


Oliver (Raw)

by DreamMerchant



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist (Live Action), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Angst, F/M, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Mystery, Occasional Comedy, Religion, Romance, Royai - Freeform, Royalty, Supernatural Elements, Thriller, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-05-25 00:16:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 136,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14964981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamMerchant/pseuds/DreamMerchant
Summary: The story begins with Roy bringing a kid who looks a lot like him to his office, after few months of promised day. He then reveals that the boy is his son (Oliver) , but Oliver doesn't know about his mother's identity, and try to get clues in order to find his mother. Meanwhile, Amestris is facing danger from Drachma as well as internal militant group of Ishvalans who want Ishval to be a free country. Because of an unknown threat from Drachma a covert mission is done in order to get the details. While all of this is going on, the first Amestris - Xing meeting is being organised where Ling is representing the royal family. The story majorly revolves around the effect of Father's (the Homunculus) death which no one is aware of as of now, which somehow links to Oliver. There are various story lines in the series which will converge eventually for bigger revelations.Before you start reading , I would like to inform some of ways I have represented different ways of communication1. Anything inside " " is regular conversation2. Anything inside { } means the character is thinking3. Anything inside ( ) is meant for information to the reader





	1. Background Of The Story

Oliver is a 9-year-old boy, and the son of the famous Flame Alchemist, Roy Mustang. Throughout his lifetime Roy hid him from the public in order to keep him away from his work and the potential danger associated with it. But, Roy never let his son feel his absence. He used to find time between his devotion toward his country and his responsibility as a father. Even after all of these, he never talked to Oliver about his mother, so the desire of the child to meet or know his mother was never fulfilled. Before the Promise day, Roy sent Oliver along with his foster mother/aunt (Madam Christmas) to Xing, for their safety. Oliver returns to Amestris after few months with his granny (Madam Christmas) and decides to stay with his father in Central City.

After the death of Bradley, Grumman becomes the new Fuehrer of Amestris, and Roy gets promoted to a Major General. After the resolution of the conflict with Ishval, the environment of Amestris is seemingly peaceful. So, Roy decides to bring Oliver to the public eye and introduces him to his team first. But, within a few days a series of tragic events take away Oliver from Roy, and all of that happens just because of the child’s desire to know his mother.

The story mainly revolves around Oliver and the legacy of Father. While expanding his empire, in order to achieve the stature of God, Father created four human chimeras who we were so strong and skilled that even his own children, the seven deadly sins were unable to face them in a battle. Father called them his four pillars, who expanded his kingdom in all the four directions. They captured many cities for him and massacred lots of people whenever he ordered. During there years of wars, there was only one battle where they had difficulty facing their enemy, and their enemy was not an army that time, it was a creature. The creature which was made of darkness, which refused to die. No matter how many times they destroyed its body, it was not dying. Even when Father, Lust, and Pride joined them in the battle, it was still impossible to kill it. Finally, Father found a way to calm down that creature before the situation could go out of control, and for centuries it never terrorized the world of livings like it used to.

The story is structured in a branch like way, where multiple stories take place and gradually the branches dissolve into some other branch. Eventually, all the storylines will dissolve into one single branch to give a proper resolution. Initially, the major storylines take place in Drachma, Central City, West Area, with some Xingese who are trying to strengthen their relationship with Amestris and with some Ishvalans who are fighting to make Ishval a free country. In the beginning, there are many flashbacks to Roy’s past in order to give a proper background to Oliver and his parentage.

 

 

I have created some OCs which will increase eventually. Currently, some important OCs are:

  1. Oliver (Roy’s son)
  2. The Four Pillars (Very powerful human chimeras created by Father centuries ago)
  3. The unknown creature (identity and abilities will be revealed eventually)
  4. The 12 Zhansi of Xing (They are the state alchemist of Xing, but they use alkahestry instead. They are the most powerful warriors of Xing. Moreover, the lesser the rank of the Zhansi, more powerful is the person e.g. Yin-Yang twins)
  5. Marshal of Drachmann military, Prime Minister of Drachma, King of Drachma and few other characters associated with Drachmann King
  6. Boris (Drachmann man who hates his government and helps Olivier Armstrong with spy operations)
  7. IFF operatives (people associated to Ishvalan Freedom Front, which is trying to make Ishval a free country)
  8. Some military personnel and new state alchemists (e.g. Cecilia Ingolfson, the splinter alchemist)



 

 

Each chapter is pretty big compared to a typical fanfiction chapter, so I am sorry for that but, I cannot shrink the size. Typically, each chapter is of 6500 words on average. Moreover, the writing style is unconventional due to which some of the readers might find it unpleasant, so I am sorry for that. Because of this, I would like you to follow the instructions given below to understand the conversation:  
1\. Anything inside " " is a regular conversation  
2\. Anything inside { } means the character is thinking  
3\. Anything inside ( ) is meant for information to the reader  
The story is based on Fullmetal Alchemist whose rights are reserved to Fullmetal Alchemist anime and Hiroshi Arakawa. Many major characters are based on the anime  
The cover art belongs to NOVANOAH, and I am just using it for non-commercial purpose.


	2. Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story starts with a young Roy when he was only 15 years old. He went to Berthold Hawkeye and tried his best to persuade him to teach him alchemy, but things didn't go the way he was expecting. He got to meet Riza in the process and made friendship with her. In the present time, we see Roy introducing Oliver (his son) to rest of his team thereby revealing the long hid secret. While Roy is managing his personal life, we see him taking responsibilities as a General and deciding strategies for the upcoming threat from Drachma and other neighboring countries with Olivier Armstrong and Miles. We also get a look at the most powerful people of Drachma who are planning to attack Amestris now that Bradley is dead.

A 15 year old boy was closing his eyes murmuring something standing at the front door of a house.

Roy: “I can do this, I will persuade him to teach me alchemy” (Motivating himself)

He opened his eyes and with confidence, he knocked the door and stood in attention stance. Five minutes passed, no one opened the door. He knocked again, still no one opened the door. He kept on repeating the same thing for some time and still no one opened the door. He couldn’t even hear any noise from inside the house. After trying for two hours…

Roy: {Looks like no one is at home. I should wait here till he comes}

He sat on the verandah which was quite big and pulled out a book from his bag and started reading it. After an hour a women in her late fifties (wearing Augsburg dress, black hair wearing a bun) and a young girl (13 years old, wearing a frock, short blonde hair) came with a bag of groceries and encountered Roy who stood up in an attention stance after watching them. Watching that, the old lady asked…

Old lady: “Who are you?” (Curious tone)

Roy: “My name is Roy Mustang Ma’am and I am here to learn alchemy from Master Berthold Hawkeye”

Hearing that, both the old lady and the girl started staring at him.

Old lady: “Listen boy, Mr. Hawkeye does not like strangers. He has specifically told me not to allow any stranger inside the house. So, I am afraid you have to leave”

Roy: {I was expecting it won’t be easy}

Roy: “Fine, I will be waiting out here. I will meet him in person when he comes out”

Old lady: “He rarely comes out of the house… it might take days or weeks, before you meet him and even if you meet him, he won’t accept you as his disciple. So, leave before he makes you leave” (persuasive tone)

Roy didn’t lose hope even after listening to her discouraging words.

Roy: “Ma’am, I have made up my mind to learn alchemy from Master Hawkeye. There is nothing in the world which can make me leave this place until I learn alchemy from him” (confident tone)

The young girl who was hiding behind the old lady, was peeking Roy while he was speaking. When Roy looked back at her, she again hid behind the old lady. The old lady was impressed looking at his determination but, she didn’t show any emotion to encourage him.

Old lady: “Do as you please… but, don’t mess with anything here”

She and the young girl entered inside the house after telling him that, and closed the door. Roy again sat on the verandah waiting for Berthold to come out. The old lady told Berthold Hawkeye about Roy and why he was here but, Berthold didn’t consider that to be important and asked her not to disturb him. The night passed away and no one came out of the house, Roy slept at the verandah using a thin blanket which he brought with him. He was lucky that, neither the place was very cold nor it was winter.

Next day at early morning, the old lady came out of the house and found Roy sleeping on the verandah, tucked under his blanket. Just a moment later, the young girl opened the door and came out to join the old lady. They were both watching Roy sleeping, tucked inside his blanket like a turtle.

Girl: “Looks like, he is not going to leave”

Old lady: “Let’s see”

They both then left for the groceries to the nearby market. When they returned, they saw Roy was sitting at the verandah reading a book. When they approached near the door, Roy stood up,

Roy: “Good Morning Ma’am”

Then he looked toward the girl but, she quickly opened the door and got inside before he could tell anything. The old lady also didn’t respond to him and went inside. Roy sighed watching their reaction and sat again at his position to read. That day also passed just like the previous day, Berthold didn’t come out of the house and Roy kept on waiting there.

Next day, when the old lady and the girl were returning from the market, they saw Roy was feeding a puppy. When they approached the door, Roy stood up and greeted them but, this time the girl didn’t run inside. She was looking at the puppy with white fur, jumping around Roy’s legs. The old lady looked at Roy,

Old lady: “Good morning (reciprocating to Roy)… are you feeding that puppy your own food?”

Roy: “Yes” (He said moving his hand over his hairs and with a grin)

The old lady looked at Roy’s bag which was lying open on the ground. There were bits of breadcrumbs in his bag and a half eaten apple. She then looked at Roy and asked…

Old lady: “What did you eat this morning?”

Roy didn’t had his breakfast, he fed the only small piece of bread loaf he had left to the puppy. Now, he had only that half eaten apple. He didn’t know what should he say and started smiling embarrassingly. While he was smiling, his stomach growled out of hunger. Hearing that, the old lady said,

Old lady: “Looks like you haven’t eaten much lately. Even your half eaten apple looks like you ate it yesterday”

Hearing that, the girl pulled out two apples from her grocery bag and offered it to Roy.

Girl: “Here, take these apples”

She was holding one apple in each hand. Roy looked at her and took those apples from her hands.

Roy: “Thank you Miss”

The girl didn’t reply to him and went inside with the old lady. After some time, the door opened and the young girl came out of the house alone. She saw Roy was sleeping on the verandah covering his face with the book he was reading, and the puppy was playing. She had brought some chicken pieces with her to feed the dog. She went closer to the puppy and gave it the chicken she brought. The puppy started biting the chicken pieces. The girl was smiling looking at the puppy, she bent down to pat it to which the puppy started wagging his tail in response. Suddenly she heard a voice,

Roy: “Do you like dogs?”

The girl looked at him. She was shy at first because she was not used to visitors at her house. After a moment, she stood up and replied

Girl: “Yes, they look cute and they are loyal too”

Roy: “Why don’t you pet him then?”

Girl: “My father won’t allow me”

Roy: “So, you are Master Hawkeye’s daughter… if you don’t mind, may I know your name?”

The girl felt that he was a good person based on her perception of him for those two days.

Girl: “My name is Riza”

Roy: “My name is Roy”

Riza: “I know, you told us your name on the first day”

Roy chuckled.

Roy: “I thought you forgot”

Riza bent down to place the bowl of chicken she brought on the ground, on which the puppy jumped. She then stood up and asked Roy,

Riza: “Do you really want to learn alchemy from my father?”

Roy: “Yes, I am not leaving this place until I learn alchemy from him”

Riza: “Good luck with that” (mocking tone)

Roy: “Did you tell him about me?”

Riza: “He knows you are here… Ms. Becker told my father about you on the first day, even I told him yesterday but, he won’t come…he doesn’t like to meet peoples”

Roy: “Ms. Becker? The old lady?”

Riza: “Yes, she takes care of the house and teaches me sometimes”

Roy: “Don’t you go to any school?”

Riza: “No, Father doesn’t want me to go to school, he teaches me at home”

Suddenly, the puppy started barking out of happiness standing near Riza and started wagging his tail. Looking that, Riza started laughing.

Riza: “Have you given him a name yet?”

Roy: “Not yet…why don’t you give him one?”

Riza: “Fine…how about White Hikari?”

Roy looked at her with stunned look.

Roy: {What kind of name is that?}

Riza: “Isn’t it a cute name?”

Roy started laughing hesitantly.

Roy: “Yes” (said while laughing hesitantly)

Two days passed like that when sometimes Riza came outside to play with the puppy and talk to Roy. Sometimes Matilda Becker (Caretaker of Riza and the house – the old lady) came with Riza and talked with Roy and played some board games with him. But, Roy was never allowed inside the house, he didn’t even see Berthold coming out of the house.

It was five day since, Roy arrived at Hawkeye residence. Riza was playing with Hikari on the road in front of her house while Roy was reading a book. Suddenly, two boys of age around 13-14 (shirt and suspender pants, one was a red head and other was black haired) approached Riza while she was playing with Hikari.

Boy 1 (red haired): “Look who it is…where is your nanny, Riza?” (Taunting tone)

Riza looked at them in a panicked way as if something bad was going to happen.

In the meantime, the black haired boy held Riza from back and the red haired boy picked up Hikari, he put Hikari in a small drum present there and started poking him with a stick. Hikari was barking uncomfortably,

Boy 1:“Look, look how he is jumping” (laughing)

Boy 2: “Let me see”

The black haired boy left Riza by pushing her on the ground to join his friend in tormenting the puppy. Riza was trying to see Hikari but, both the boys were blocking her and poking the puppy. She could only hear the puppy’s cry. Suddenly, a familiar voice interrupted the boys…

Roy: “What do you think you are doing?”

Hearing the voice, both the boys looked toward Roy who was standing there like a hero to rescue. Getting the chance, Riza rushed toward Hikari to save him but, she was pushed back by the red haired boy and she fell on the ground.

Boy 2: “Who are you? Riza’s part-time nanny?”

Both the boys started laughing after saying that.

Roy: “What if I am? At least I am not some douchebag who likes to hit girls or torture puppies for fun” (taunting tone)

Both the boys got angry, listening to his words. They approached toward Roy with thin sticks with which they were poking Hikari. When both of them reached near Roy, the red haired boy attacked Roy with the stick, but Roy dodged it and punched him on his face. When he disconnected his punch, the black haired boy pushed Roy on the ground from back. Because of Roy’s punch, the red haired boy fell on the ground and his nose started bleeding.

Boy 2: “Your nose!” (Looking at the red haired boy)

Roy took the advantage of the distraction and punched the black haired boy on his guts. The black haired boy held his stomach and sat down and started groaning. Roy stood up and shrugged off the dust on his shirt,

Roy: “Go away, I hope you learnt your lesson”

Both the boys stood up, one holding his bleeding nose and one groaning holding his belly. When they walked away, Riza came to Roy holding Hikari on her arms.

Riza: “Thank you Roy” (concerned look)

Roy: “You are welcome” (He replied with a smile)

Riza: “I wish I could fight like you”

Roy: “Well I don’t know much fighting, but I can definitely teach you how to land a punch though”

Riza: “Really?”

Roy: “We are now friends after all. Aren’t we?”

Riza smiled hearing his reply. It was already evening so, she put Hikari on the ground and ran toward the house. While going…

Riza: “Bye Hikari, I will meet you later”

After sometime when the sun was set and a half moon was shining in the sky, Roy was sitting at his regular position with Hikari. Inside the house, it was a rare moment when Berthold Hawkeye and Riza Hawkeye were sitting on the dining table after they finished their dinner, while Matilda Becker was in the kitchen washing the dishes. Generally, Berthold Hawkeye took his dinner in his study room.

Berthold: “You should stop feeding that boy. If you keep feeding him, he won’t leave this place and it’s not like he is doing any work to deserve the food you provide him”

Riza didn’t reply for a moment. Then she talked in a low voice, hesitantly…

Riza: “But, he cleans the front of the house every day and, today he protected me from two boys who were hurting me. He just wants to learn alchemy from you, why don’t you teach him… he is a nice person”

Berthold: “I think I have already made myself clear, I am not going to teach alchemy to anyone”

After saying that, he stood up and left for his study room. After sometime, Riza and Matilda got out of the house with some food. Roy looked at them,

Roy: “I told you, you don’t need to do this for me”

Riza: “You clean the front of our house regularly, you take care of Hikari and over all of that you saved me today. It is the least I can do for you. And, you need strength if you want to learn alchemy from my father, don’t you?”

Roy smiled.

Matilda: “Riza, now go inside and sleep, okay? I can’t stay with you tonight, I have some work at home”

Riza went inside the house and locked the door from inside. Matilda checked the door before leaving for her home which was just 700-800 meter away from there. Sometime later, everybody was asleep inside the Hawkeye residence, and Roy was sleeping at the verandah with Hikari beside him as usual. Roy was sleeping happily, unknown from the fact that someone was keeping an eye on him. When the people who were keeping an eye on Roy were sure that everyone was asleep, they approached toward Roy and held him forcibly and closed his mouth so he couldn’t shout and dragged him to some distance so that his voice couldn’t get inside the house. They also took Hikari with them. There were 5 boys, 3 of them were quite tall (close to 6 feet) and 2 of them were 13-14 year old boys. Roy could easily identify those 2 boys who were the same one who got beaten by him. One of the big boy (shirt and pant, red haired, crew cut) grabbed Roy’s jaw tightly while other two were holding his hands (they were also wearing shirt and pant, with dark untidy hair)

Big Boy 1 (red haired): “So you are the one who beat my brother?”

He then punched Roy’s face. He punched Roy 3-4 times more, covering the face with blood. Two boys who were holding Roy’s hand left him. Roy fell on the ground and all three of them started kicking him tearing off his shirt, covering him with bruises and blood. Then, the red haired small boy spoke to his big brother…

Boy 1: “What shall we do with this puppy?” (He was holding Hikari)

Big Boy 1: “Do as you please”

The two small boys looked at the puppy for a moment and then, the red haired boy slammed Hikari on ground and started kicking him. The puppy was groaning in pain. Roy was still conscious but, he was too weak to even stand up or shout. He was continuously saying them to stop in a very low voice but, the two boys were not stopping. After some moment, Roy lost his consciousness, closing his eyes looking at Hikari getting beaten by those two boys.

 

**[Present day]**

Roy’s eyes were closed when he heard an irritating noise, exactly like an alarm clock. He opened his eyes, stopped the alarm and got out of his bed. Few months had passed since The Promised Day, everyone’s life was going fine and normal as it was supposed to be. Team Mustang however had gained the most; every member of the team had been promoted, Roy was now a Major General and Havoc was back to the team. Roy now had the privileges of a General; he had a big house and some servants. After finishing all his morning chores which were generally brushing, bathing and taking a dump, he finished his breakfast, and started getting ready for office. While he was getting ready, he was talking to someone who was standing beside him, who was also getting ready to go somewhere.

Roy: “You never told me, how was your trip to Xing was like?”

A child’s voice replied to him.

Boy: “It was awesome” (excited tone)

The Boy was looking a lot like a 9-10 year old Roy.

Roy: “Really? Did you like your granny so much?”

Boy: “Yes…and also I learned a different kind of alchemy which they call alkahestry but, I can do only one technique”

Roy was surprised as he came to know about alkahestry only few months back and now his son knew that thing.

Roy: “WHAT? Who taught you that?”

Boy: “There was this girl named Mei who was a little older than me. When I told her that I am your son and will be staying in Xing for some time, she became very friendly with me. She told me that she knows you…later I found out that she knows a different kind of alchemy so, I asked her to teach me and she agreed. That’s all”

Roy was staring at his son with surprise.

Roy: {What kind of child is he? He knows both alchemy and alkahestry …Is he really gonna surpass me at this age? But then, he is my son after all}

He smiled with pride after his thought. Oliver saw his smile and asked…

Oliver: “Why are you smiling dad?”

Roy: “It’s nothing” (He looked back at mirror to get ready for office)

Roy: “Anyways, are you sure you want to stay with me in Central? Aren’t you going to miss your friends and Ms. Anna?”

Boy: “I told them before leaving that, it will be better for me if I stay with you and learn alchemy, that way I can become a state alchemist even before the age when Edward Elric became one”

Roy got concerned hearing his reply

Roy: “Son, it’s too early to take some burden like that (serious tone)…enjoy your childhood, you should make some friends rather than studying and practicing alchemy you know” (He smiled looking at him)

Boy: “Don’t worry Dad, I will be fine. Anyways, what are we going to do today?”

Roy: “You can come with me to my office if you want. You can meet my team there”

Boy: “I will go with you. Will there be more state alchemist there?”

Roy: “You might find Colonel Armstrong there, if you want to meet someone”

Boy: “THE STRONG ARM ALCHEMIST?” (His eyes started sparkling with excitement)

Roy: “Yes, but don’t get intimidated by his size. He is very big, and don’t come running to me if he strips his shirt off”

Boy: “Don’t worry, I will be fine”

Roy: “Let’s go then”

There was a driver waiting for them outside. He opened the door for both of them and drove them straight to the office. Everything was going as usual in the office; Havoc was watching the ceiling sitting on his chair while resting his healed legs on the desk; Breda and Falman were debating over some stupid thing and Fuery was enjoying the debate; Hawkeye had gone for a meeting with some other Military personnel from other teams. That’s when the door opened and all team members looked at Mustang entering the office with a 9-10 year old kid. Mustang greeted, “Hey everyone” and everyone responded, “Good morning Sir”. Everyone was looking at the boy who was somewhat looking like Roy in his childhood. Roy sat on the sofa and was looking very happy, even there was a smile stuck on his face. Roy cleared his throat before speaking,

Roy: “Team, this is Oliver” (Embracing Oliver with his right hand who was sitting beside him)

Roy: “Sorry, I never got to tell you about him but, it seems the right time has come. He is the next in line to the Mustang family and my only son” (He grinned after completing his sentence)

Everyone was shocked, staring at Roy and then Oliver, back and forth. The entire team shouted with a surprised look on their face, “WHAT? YOUR SON?” Their eyes were widened. They worked with Roy for so long and never got to know that he was a father.

After a moment, everything calmed down, but everybody in that room was very curious and had a lot of questions. Havoc was the first one to ask but he sounded hesitant

Havoc: “Chief?”

Roy: “Yes Jean?”

Havoc: “Chief…Don’t get me wrong but, all these years you never let me date a girl properly and now you come to us and say that, YOU HAVE A SON?”

Roy: “I think you should thank me for that…should I remind you whom did you dated once?”

Havoc: {Damn it, I knew he would bring that}

Fuery: “So Oliver… how old are you?”

Oliver: “Nine”

Havoc: “You had a son all this time and you never told us …huh Chief?”

Roy: “Things were pretty messy back then if you remember”

Havoc: “You are right I guess…Now when can we meet your wife?”

Roy: “The thing is…”

Everyone was staring at Roy and he was very uncomfortable answering that question.

Oliver: “She left us” (stressed tone)

Roy: “Can you please not ask anything about his mother?” (He requested)

Roy: “Fuery, why don’t you take Oliver and show the central command?”

Fuery: “Sure Sir”

Oliver went with Fuery but, before they could open the door, the door opened and he saw a blonde woman right in front of him.

Oliver: “Ma’am!”

Riza was first shocked to see Oliver in the office but, she didn’t react shocked.

Riza: “Oli? When…did…you come to Central?”

Team Mustang: “WHAT? SHE KNOWS OLIVER?”

Roy: “Yesterday” (Answering Riza)

Riza: “General, at least you could have told me Oli was coming. I could have picked him up from the station” (Looking at Roy with enraged eyes which only Roy could read)

Roy: “Yes, I should have” (guilty face)

Riza: “So Oli, how many days are you going to stay in Central?”

Oliver: “I am not going back”

Riza was shocked and at the same moment she appeared happy that Oliver was going to stay in Central.

Riza: “Won’t you miss Anna and your friends there?” (Sweet tone)

Oliver: “I told them, I will come to visit them”

Riza smiled at Oliver.

Riza: “I think you will become a better man than your father someday”

Roy: “Was that an insult to me?” (Frowning face)

Oliver: “Can I go now?”

Riza: “Yes, and Fuery…take good care of Oliver and… Hayate is at the garden, if you want to pay a visit”

Oliver: “Really? Now I got to see the war dog Black Hayate” (Excited tone)

Riza chuckled listening to his reply. After Fuery and Oliver left, Havoc asked

Havoc: “It looks like Major Hawkeye knows Oliver from a very long time”

Roy: “Yes…what’s the big deal in that? She is my aide and personal assistant, if you remember.”

After a moment…

Falman:  “SHIT”

Roy looked at Falman and asked in a bad mood.

Roy:  “What happened?”

Falman: “Sorry Chi…Chief, it was nothing”

Roy was not convinced when he saw Falman uncomfortable and Breda sweating. He gave them a glaring look.

Roy: “Tell me… what’s going on or else I will make sure that both of you won’t go home this whole week and won’t be able to get any lunch break”

Breda couldn’t hold more and had to tell the truth while facing the floor.

Breda: “Actually, the thing is…”

Roy: “Are you testing my patience?” (Angry tone)

Breda: “According to your order, Falman and I went to your house yesterday to fetch the old books for binding”

Roy: “Yes, what about it?”

Breda: “We gathered all the old books, there were 6 of them. We then went to the binding shop you told us about, but it was closed, so we decided to go next day and went to the bar. After we had some drinks, we left for home but…”

Roy: “BUT WHAT?”

Falman: “But, we left your books at the bar. When I remembered that we left your books there, I went there to retrieve them but, they were already gone and, the bar-tender was clueless who took them”

Roy: “I see (calm tone)…Was there any book which had a brown cover and ‘BH’ written over it?”

Falman: “Yes” (Panicked tone)

Roy: “Major, please bring me my gloves?”

Riza: “There is no time for that Sir…we have a meeting now”’

Roy: “I will only burn there lower half…just a little” (evil tone)

Breda and Falman were sweating in fear.

Riza: “You can do that later Sir”

She stood up and went toward the door.

Roy: “I will see you later, boys” (evil tone)

Roy and Riza left the office and were going toward the meeting room. After leaving the office…

Roy: “Those idiots, how could they be so irresponsible?” (Angry tone)

Riza: “Why are you so worried about some books?”

Roy: “Because one of those books was Master’s” (Angry tone)

After hearing Roy’s reason, Riza understood why he was worried. It was the final gift that her father gave to him after he died, and she was the one who gave it to Roy because her father requested her to give him that book after his death. That was not actually a book, it was a collection of alchemical notes her father made.

Riza: “I see” (empathizing tone)

They stopped talking for a moment then, Riza spoke

Riza: “Why didn’t you tell me Oli was in Central?”

Roy got out of the thought about losing his Master’s book when he heard that question.

Roy: “We were having fun till evening and by the time we returned home, he was very tired so, I thought of informing you later”

Riza: “So, that’s your excuse?” (Her voice was full of anger without any yelling)

Roy: “Sorry, I should have let you know” 

Riza calmed down after listening to his genuine apology.

Riza: “Anyways, now that Oli will be staying at Central, I think you should homeschool him”

Roy: “He needs to make friends and he cannot do it until he joins a school…you are being overprotective you know?”

Riza: “What’s wrong with that?”

They were at the door of the meeting room. She opened the door for Roy to enter. They entered the meeting room where Olivier Mira Armstrong and Miles were waiting for them sitting on their chair.

Olivier: “I can’t believe you became a General” (disgusted tone)

Roy and Riza sat down opposite to them and Roy replied to her with a smile…

Roy: “I guess, there was no one else better than me to fill the shoes…So, why did you bother to come here?”

Olivier: “You must be aware that after Bradley died, our neighboring countries are thinking we are vulnerable.”

Roy: “Yes, I talked to the Fuehrer about this. He is going to increase forces at West and South and at least one state alchemist is going to be appointed at each command”

Olivier: “What about North? Isn’t he going to increase forces in north?”

Roy: “Food supply is a problem at north…so, your forces will be provided with best ammunitions and better state alchemists instead of soldiers”

Miles: “There is one other issue in North according to our sources. Drachma has some secret weapon which they are going to use against Amestris. We don’t know what that weapon is or how does it works. I would like to request the Fuehrer to initiate a covert mission to Drachma and get information as soon as possible.”

Roy: “How much time do we have?”

Miles: “Approximately 1 month”

Roy: “I see” (concerned tone)

Riza: “Next week, some people from the Xingese royal family are coming for an official meet. Shall we call off the visit?”

Roy: “No, we don’t need to cancel that. This is a very important meeting and they are going to stay for 3 days so, I don’t think we will have a problem”

Olivier: “I agree, all we need is a covert operation and, if we cancel some major event like this, Drachma might take a notice on this and change their plan”

The meeting lasted for more than 2 hours.

Roy: “Are we done then?”

Olivier: “Yes, but It would have been better if Fuehrer had been here. Where is he?”

Riza: “He has gone to visit Ms. Bradley”

Olivier: “I see”

Riza lifted the glass of water to quench her thirst after the long meeting.

Miles: “General Mustang if you don’t mind, can you please tell us if it’s true that you have a son?”

Roy smiled and answered him…

Roy: “Yes”

Olivier: “I didn’t know you will be a man to settle down! Who is the unlucky woman?”

Hearing that, Riza coughed and water sprinkled on the table. Due to her action, everyone was staring at her.

Riza: “Sorry for that”

Olivier: “It’s alright Major… I know you are way too smart to be that unlucky woman”

Riza didn’t react to that.

Olivier: “I don’t have interest in your personal life, Mustang. So, you don’t have to answer me ,and I have to go somewhere anyways”

After saying that, she and Miles left the room.

 

**[Othon- The capital of Drachma, a month after the promised day]**

It was night and snowing at Othon, the capital of Drachma. A meeting was going on in the strategic room of the palace. Three people were present there, and three of them were the most powerful persons of Drachma who were responsible for all the important decision of the country….

Marshal of the Drachmann Federation – **Clifton Kozlov** (Appearance: In his 50s, height around 6.5 feet with bulky body, Fair complexion, oblong face, small black eyes, medium length black hair combed backward, bushy handlebar moustache, wearing the traditional Drachmann army uniform containing a Songkok hat with a white feather on it and a strip of red fabric around the uniform)

Prime Minister - **Sieglaff** (Appearance: In his 50s, height around 5.8 feet with a well-proportioned body, brown complexion, round face, normal sized black eyes, medium length black hair with strands of white hairs combed backward, wearing a black round neck suit and a red shawl)

And

The King - **Coeus** (Appearance: In his early 40s, height around 6 feet with a well-proportioned body, fair complexion, diamond face, normal sized green eyes, loosed shoulder length silver hair, wearing one golden ring shaped earing on his left ear, a golden ring, a black pant, leather shoes , renaissance shirt and a polar bear fur coat)

They were sitting around an oval table and being headed by the King.

Clifton: “There is no doubt, Fuehrer Bradley is dead. And, the new Fuehrer is Grumman, who was initially a General posted at the East City”

Sieglaff: “This time I hope you are not going to attack Briggs, just because an Amestrian told you something”

Sieglaff mocked Clifton because one of his General attacked on Briggs when the General received the news from Solf J. Kimblee (the crimson lotus alchemist) about the transfer of Olivier Armstrong from Briggs.

Clifton: “General Semenov acted on his own, good thing he died out there, otherwise I would have killed him myself for leading so many of my soldiers to their death” (angrily fisting the table)

Sieglaff: “Maybe because you are not a capable leader”

Clifton: “How dare you doubt on my leadership capability?”  (Annoyed tone)     

Suddenly, they both got interrupted by the man….

Coeus: “Sieglaff” (He called him calmly)

Sieglaff and Clifton looked toward Coeus.

Sieglaff: “Yes, my King?”

Coeus: “Did you find out what happened at the central command of Amestris?”

Sieglaff: “Yes, my King…A battle happened there as you know. According to our sources, an unknown young man appeared from beneath central command. He was so powerful that no weapon was working against him, he was also able to produce human beings from within his body….”

Sieglaff told everything what happened during the promised day.

Sieglaff: “I tried to find out who that young man was. We were unable to find much about his history except that, he was below the central command the whole time and, the homunculus referred to him as…”

Coeus: “Father”

When Coeus completed the sentence, Sieglaff and Clifton started looking at him with surprise because it was a piece of information which was known to some handful of people in Amestris.

Sieglaff: “Did you know him, my King?”

Coeus thought for a moment and replied…

Coeus: “No”

After listening to his reply, they didn’t ask him any more question regarding Father even though they felt he knew Father.

Sieglaff: “Bradley is dead and Amestris is looking very vulnerable for the first time. I propose we make a plan to attack Amestris”

Clifton: “Minister Sieglaff, do you really think we couldn’t have beaten Bradley and his army of alchemists? Our force is far more terrifying than any country, it’s just that our King didn’t want to attack Amestris”

Coeus stood up and started walking toward the door. Both Sieglaff and Clifton were confused that why he was leaving the room without making a decision. Then, Coeus spoke…

Coeus: “Fine Clifton, you have my permission to prepare for war. I am bored of this cold weather anyways, I wonder how the Fuehrer’s residence feels like”

After saying that, Coeus left the room. That was the first time, Sieglaff and Clifton listened something like that from the King’s mouth. They smiled after hearing his reply. For the first time they were feeling like, they were going to capture Amestris.

 


	3. Farewell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a tragic incident, Berthold finally accepts Roy as his disciple. Roy spends 3 years learning alchemy from Berthold, and getting more close to Riza. When Roy leaves to join military, Berthold gets disappointed with his actions, and they have a heated conversation over that. While Berthold is disappointed with Roy, Riza still considers him as her best friend and says her goodbye when he leaves. In the present time, we see Maria Ross and Danny Brosch reaching Fort Briggs where they get further information on the covert mission that is going to be operated in Drachma. While in the far east, we see Ling , Lan Fan and Mei meet the Xing Emperor and gets his permission to attend and represent the royal family at the first Amestris-Xing Meeting. In this chapter we also get to see two Zhansi (Zhansi are the best warriors of Xing, they are like Xing's state alchemist and there are only 12 of them)

Roy was closing his eyes when he heard someone speaking…

Riza: “Miss Becker, I think he is waking up”

Roy then heard some footstep approaching toward him, he opened his eyes to find out what was going on. When he opened his eyes, he saw Ms. Matilda Becker and Riza were looking at him and he was lying on a bed.

Matilda: “How are you feeling?”

Roy was shirtless and was covered with bandages.

Roy: “What happened? Where is Hikari?”

When Riza heard Roy asking about Hikari, her face turned into a withered flower and her eyes filled with tears. She ran out from the room.

Roy: “Why did she ran away?” (Looking at Matilda curiously)

Matilda: “Roy”

She was hesitating to tell him the truth but, Roy was looking at her desperately to know the truth. Finally, Matilda had to give up and tell him…

Matilda: “Hikari is dead” (Sad tone)

Roy was speechless when he heard her reply. He couldn’t believe her…

Roy: “B…b…but, how?” (Stressed tone, looking down)

Roy: “It can’t be true. How can he die?”

Matilda: “When I was returning home this morning, I found you badly beaten, lying against a tree, and Hikari was also there, lying beside you. The only difference between him and you was that, you were breathing and he was not… Riza and I buried him in our backyard” (sad tone)

Hearing that, images in flashes started appearing in Roy’s mind. He remembered last night when he was beaten and saw Hikari beaten by those kids. Roy’s eyes started tearing, he couldn’t believe that he failed to protect Hikari, he got out of the bed and fell on the floor. Matilda got shocked watching his activities.

Matilda: “What are you doing?” (Concerned tone)

Roy was unable to stand up but, he kept on crawling toward the door crying and bearing all his pains.

Roy: “DON’T STOP ME. I AM A FAILURE, YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT ME TO DIE OUT THERE”

When he reached the door while crawling, he saw someone’s feet. He stopped crying and looked up to see who that was. He saw a tall man in his forties, wearing a white shirt, a black trousers and a maroon shawl around his shoulder, untidy dark yellowish hair.

Berthold: “I thought you came here to learn alchemy?” (Looking down to Roy)

Roy was confused on what to say.

Roy: “Master Hawkeye?”

Berthold: “I haven’t accepted you as my disciple yet. And, I might not accept someone who cannot face the harsh truth of reality…what is born, must die one day, that’s the law of nature. If you cannot accept the law of nature, then you are not ready to learn alchemy”

Roy: “But, I could have saved Hikari” (guilty tone)

Berthold: “You already saved him when you decided to take care of him. If you would have not been present outside my house that day, then the puppy might have died eventually out of hunger or killed by some other dogs”

Roy could not say anything. Berthold bent down to help him get up, and took him to the bed. Matilda stood aside so that Berthold could help Roy to slowly lie on the bed.

Berthold: “Now rest. The quicker you get well, the sooner we can start with your training”

Roy went back to the bed to rest, after all his long wait was finally answered. Berthold accepted him as his disciple but, he didn’t seemed happy. He didn’t even react, he was continuously staring at the ceiling.

Berthold: “I know, you are angry…I know you want to take revenge, but it will lead you nowhere. Taking an eye for an eye is never the right option, if everybody decides to take an eye for an eye then the whole world will be left with blinds, and you know as well as I know that we cannot appreciate the beauty that the world has to offer, if we go blind”

Roy looked at Berthold with his sad eyes.

Roy: “Then what should I do? Just let them go, even after what they did?”

Berthold: “Yes, and promise me, after learning alchemy you will only use it to help people, not hurt” (looking Roy in his eyes)

Roy couldn’t say anything for a moment. Then he looked away from Berthold and replied…

Roy: “I promise”

Berthold then stood up and walked toward the door but, before leaving…

Berthold: “Ms. Becker, Roy will be staying in your room from now on, and you will be staying with Riza”

Matilda: “Fine, whatever you say. Anyways, your daughter comes to my room every night so, it won’t be a new thing for me”

Berthold: “Why does she sleep in your room?”

Matilda: “If you had ever tried to be like a father, then you would have known…she doesn’t have any friends so, she likes to talk with me every night and falls asleep in my bed”

After listening that, Berthold didn’t react and went to his room.

Some days passed, Roy got well. Every day after that, he went to the common study room where Berthold used to keep his books, and studied there. Riza also started spending more and more time in the study room with Roy. Riza always lacked a friend, which was now fulfilled by Roy’s presence. Sometimes when they were not having any work or study to do, they used to go to the lake nearby and rest under an unusual black olive tree which was big, shady, without thorns and had never borne fruit.  The tree was a landmark of that town.

One day they were sitting under the olive tree and talking when they saw 5 boys approaching them. They were the same boys who beat Roy and killed Hikari a year back. After that incident, he never saw those 3 boys who beat him but, fate decided to clash them once more. They came and stood in front of Roy. First the older red head boy spoke…

Older red head: “Long time no see loser, looks like you have recovered”

Roy was still sitting and was looking at them with rage.

Older red head: “Sorry we were not available to whoop your ass” (All the 5 boys started laughing)

Riza: “Let’s go Roy” (grabbing and pulling Roy’s hand)

Older red head: “Go Roy, go…go play with dolls with her” (mocking tone)

All the boys laughed at Roy and Riza.

Older red head: “Wait a minute, if I remember, you had a dog right?” (Mocking tone)

Riza’s face became sad and tears started sliding down her cheek when she heard those boys making fun of Hikari. Roy also couldn’t control his emotions anymore and rushed toward the red head boy to punch him

Roy: “YOU BASTARD” (Angry tone)

But he was caught by the gang before he could land a punch on that red head’s face. The red head boy then landed a hard punch on Roy’s belly. Roy fell on the ground after the gang left him, and lied there holding his belly. The red head then looked at Riza who was terrified watching Roy getting beaten…

Older red head: “Heyyy…you are Riza Hawkeye, right? You weren’t there when last time we beat the crap out of him, right? Let us show you again how we did it”

He then turned toward Roy with his gang. Riza was crying, asking them to stop but, they weren’t listening. In the meantime, Roy had drawn a transmutation circle on the ground and was acting to hold his belly in pain. Riza didn’t know about Roy’s plan and neither did the five boys. Riza ran toward the boys to stop them but, she was caught by the two boys who were of the same age as of Riza (one red head and one black haired – the boys who killed Hikari). When the other three boys reached near Roy, Roy suddenly sat straight and placed both of his hands on the transmutation circle.

Roy: {Sorry master, I think I have to break my promise today}

He used the transmutation circle to produce three big earth hands from the ground, and threw the three boys in air.  The three boys flew to some height and fell on the ground due to which they got injured. The older red head boy stood up quickly and pulled out a knife from his pocket and rushed toward Roy. Roy again generated some earth hands using alchemy and hit him. The other two boys who were holding Riza were terrified about what Roy was doing.

Younger red head: “What! Is he some kind of wizard?”

Roy then stood up and walked toward Riza. Watching Roy, both the boys left Riza.

Roy: “From now on, please don’t bother us” (requesting tone)

Even though Roy talked sweetly with them, they could easily see the rage in his eyes. They ran away from there along with their big brothers. After that incident, Roy and Riza never saw them but, after few days, they found out that the older boys were caught by the military police and were taken to Central City in charge of thievery. The three of them had committed thievery at East City and were hiding in the town, but somehow military police got the information and caught them. Now, there was no one to bother Roy.

Time passed away, Roy and Riza made a lot of happy moments together in all those years. Sometimes, Roy used to carry Riza on a bicycle’s back to give her a tour of the grassy fields, while sometimes Riza used to make stew which Roy loved to eat. Eventually, Riza started looking more like a woman and less like a little girl due to which Roy started developing feelings for Riza, but he was too afraid to tell her, and also he was afraid of his master. Sometimes he accidently looked at Riza’s breasts which were bigger than the first time he met her, and he blushed and talked uncomfortably even though he was raised among courtesans. It made Riza confuse on why he talked uncomfortably sometimes. Time kept on flying away and Roy was now eighteen years old.

One day a mail came to Hawkeye residence from the military. Unfortunately, Matilda fetched the mail and took it to Berthold. Berthold saw the envelope, it was addressed to Roy. Berthold despised the military, so out of curiosity he opened the envelope to find out what the military had to do with his disciple. Roy was in the common study room and Riza was in kitchen with Matilda. After reading the letter, Berthold went to the common study room and closed the door. Roy saw him entering, but he was confused why Berthold closed the door. Berthold walked toward Roy and sat on the chair in front of Roy which was separated by the study table in between. Berthold put the letter on the table…

Berthold: “Why didn’t you tell me that you were going to join the military?”

Roy: “I thought you will be mad” (guilty tone)

Berthold sighed.

Berthold: “Why did you join the military?”

Roy: “I think that’s the only way I can make some difference. Once I become a state alchemist, I can use alchemy for helping others like you always taught me”

Berthold: “Roy, no matter what position you gain in the military, you will still remain their dog, and one day you might die like a dog, left to die like a trash on the side of the road” (He coughed)

Roy: “It’s better to be a dog and make some difference rather than becoming a great alchemist and doing nothing for this country” (He raised his voice)

Berthold looked at him surprisingly because of the way he reacted. Roy understood he let his emotion loose…

Roy: “Sorry Master” (guilty tone)

Berthold: “hmmm” (nodding his head)

Berthold: “I think I told you what I think was right for you, rest is up to you” (He coughed by covering his mouth with his hand)

Roy: “Are you okay Master?” (Concerned tone)

Berthold: “I am fine”

Roy could clearly see some sprinkle of blood on Berthold’s palm when he removed his hand from his mouth, but he didn’t say anything. Berthold stood up and left the room. Soon Riza and Matilda got to know that Roy was joining military. One month later, Roy was ready for leaving to Eastern headquarter for the training process. Berthold didn’t even meet him while he was leaving for the station, Berthold remained inside his room that day and Roy had to say good bye from outside the door. Riza and Matilda went to the station with Roy to say him goodbye. The train was already at the station and was about to leave in the next ten minutes. Roy looked at Matilda and Riza…

Roy: “I think we can’t play games very often now” (He grinned to hide his sadness)

Matilda: “Don’t get beaten there, I can’t come there to treat you” (mocking tone)

Roy: “Don’t worry Ms. Becker, there are doctors who can treat me better than you” (mocking tone)

Matilda: “You ungrateful boy… take care”  

Roy then looked at Riza’s frowning face who hadn’t said a word. Before Roy could say a word, she rushed toward him and hugged him tightly. She started crying on his shoulders. Roy reciprocated to her hug with his hug.

Roy: “Heyyyyy, why are you crying? You know how much I love your stew, I will be coming frequently. Just make sure that when I come, you have my stew ready”

Riza stopped hugging him and stopped crying. She wiped her tears and replied…

Riza: “Idiot” (She chuckled)

Roy: “Well, this idiot will one day become a king”

Riza: “And who’s going to become this idiot’s queen?”

Suddenly, the train started discharging smoke from the chimney and blowing the loud horns. Roy didn’t reply to Riza’s question…

Roy: “I think it’s time to go” (He smiled)

Roy picked up his luggage and ran to board the slow moving train.  He stood at the train entrance and waved his hands to say goodbye to which Matilda and Riza also reciprocated by waving their hand. Soon the train left the station and Roy left to join military.

 

 

**[Present day – North City]**

A train from Central City arrived at the railway station of North City, and along with lots of people, Maria Ross and Sergeant Major Danny Brosh got off that train. Both of them were in civil clothes along with coats to protect them from cold. They were once under the command of late Maes Hughes, the close friend of Roy Mustang. Maria was court-martialed after she was accused of killing Maes Hughes, but later she was found innocent. She left military after that and never joined the military on records. They were supposed to meet Lieutenant General Olivier Mira Armstrong at Briggs (General Armstrong was promoted one rank up after the promised day and was posted back to Briggs due to her request). When they arrived at the station, they were expecting someone to pick them up, but no one showed up.  They thought may be someone was waiting outside and went outside the station, but still no one was there to receive them. They finally decided to get to Briggs by themselves. They took lift from a merchant who was going on his vehicle that way. The merchant dropped them at a location where military boundary was starting, and told them to be careful as there was heavy snow on the way and bears. After the merchant left, those two were looking at the way which was uphill and full of snow and over that, to make thing worse, chilling wind was blowing.

Danny: “General Armstrong was informed about our arrival, right?” (Confused tone)

Maria: “Don’t whine…we have a long way ahead”

After saying that, they walked toward Briggs through all that snow and chilling wind. After walking for two hours, they were clueless on where they were going due to the snowy wind which reduced the visibility. After sometime, they saw a man approaching them. It was an Amestrian soldier wearing a white coat, he was clearly from Fort Briggs. When the soldier reached near them…

Soldier: “Are you from Central Command?”

Both of them were overjoyed when they realized that someone finally came for them.

Danny: “Yes” (Overjoyed tone)

Soldier: “Come with me”

They followed the soldier who led them to Fort Briggs. As soon as they entered Briggs, they were taken to the doctor. While they were being served hot soup, General Armstrong and Miles entered the room. Watching General Armstrong, both of them stood up and saluted her…

Olivier: “At ease”

Both of them stood in a relaxed pose after receiving her order.

Olivier: “Why didn’t you come by the vehicle I sent for you to the station?”

They got confused.

Maria: “But, we didn’t see anyone at the station”

Olivier: “Major” (She was looking straight and not at Miles who was standing beside her)

Miles: “Yes General?”

Olivier: “Who was responsible to pick them up from the station?”

Miles: “Sergeant Yoki, General”

Yoki was initially a military officer posted at Youswell, where he bankrupted the citizen by imposing heavy taxes on them. Later when he was exposed by Edward Elric, he was stripped of his ranks. After the promised day, he was reinstated in military, but due to his past record, he was demoted to the rank of sergeant and was posted at Fort Briggs.

Olivier: “THAT FOOL CAN’T DO A WORK PROPERLY”

She was mad at Yoki as if she was going to kill him the time he returns to Briggs. Miles understood what she wanted, so before she spoke…

Miles: “I will send soldiers to search for Yoki and let you know as soon as he is here”

Olivier was still angry, she turned around and started walking toward her office. While leaving…

Olivier: “Bring these fools to my office”

They prepared to leave that room with Miles, but before they could leave, the doctor spoke.

Doctor: “You need to pay me 800 cenz for the two soups you took”

Both of them looked at the Doctor…

Maria, Danny: “BUT WE BARELY DRANK THE SOUP”

Danny: “And how come soup is so expensive?”

Miles: “Whatever you doing, do it fast. Believe me, you don’t want to make General Armstrong mad”

Both of them got scared after hearing Miles’ words. Both of them quickly took out 400 cenz each from their purse and gave it to the Doctor. Then they followed Miles to General Armstrong’s office. The office door was open so, they entered inside and found General Armstrong sitting on her chair looking at them with her piercing eyes. After they entered inside the room, they stood at a distance from General’s desk. Miles closed the door and walked toward General Armstrong and stood beside her. Olivier was placing her hands on the desk.

Olivier: “So, Mustang thinks you two are good enough for the job…I saw your record Miss Maria Ross, you were the one framed for killing Maes Hughes.  Well, I didn’t understand why he chose you for this mission” (Stoic tone)

Maria: “You can trust us General”

Olivier: “I don’t have a choice, do I?”

Maria and Danny got nervous after her reply.

Olivier: “One of my soldier is already in Othon, the capital city of Drachma. I am expecting you to be successful and get the information as soon as possible…and, don’t put shame on Amestrian military by dying out there. You will be leaving for your mission tomorrow at 8:00 AM. Two of our soldiers will lead you to Drachma through smuggling paths. Any questions?”

Danny, Maria: “No Ma’am”

Olivier: “You can leave now. Major Miles will show you your room where you will be staying”

Danny and Maria saluted General Armstrong, and followed Miles who led them to their rooms.

 

 

**[Xing]**

In Xing emperor residence, Ling was practicing sword fighting with someone. Ling was struggling with the other person who was wearing a mask and had an auto-mail arm with a small sword extension.

Ling: “So you have become really fast”

They kept on fighting but, Ling soon immobilized the other person by pushing her on the ground.

Ling: “No doubt, you have improved a lot”

The other person stood up and removed the mask and spoke…

Lan Fan: “Sorry young lord, it seems like I am not good enough to protect you” (Disappointed tone)

Ling: “Heyyyyyyy, you shouldn’t get disappointed so easily! For your information, I am not taking anyone else as my bodyguard”

Lan Fan: “Thank you for believing in me, but I don’t think I am strong enough”

Ling: “Then become strong” (He grinned)

At that moment, someone ran inside with a small panda. It was Mei Chang, she was panting…

Mei: “What are you doing brother? It’s almost time to meet the emperor”

Ling: “Oh, I forgot” (He said while moving his hand over his head and with a guilty smile)

Ling: “Let’s go then. Lan Fan?”

Lan Fan: “Yes, young lord”

Ling: “Wait for me”

Lan Fan: “Hmmm” (She replied in attention stance)

Mei and Ling went to meet the emperor, leaving Xiao-Mei (the small panda) with Lan Fan. When they reached the Emperor’s court, there were only few people out of which some were the bodyguards and some were Emperor’s ministers and advisors. The Emperor (in his mid-sixties) was sitting on his throne at a height, wearing the traditional royal Xingese attire. When Mei and Ling reached close enough, they bent to address the Emperor. One of the minister who was standing beside the Emperor walked a bit forward…

Minister: “Stand up Ling Yao, Mei Chang”

Ling and Mei stood up after receiving the response. Everybody in the court was watching them,

Minister: “As you know, the Emperor has assigned you to represent the royalty at Amestris. Emperor is very happy with you that you brought the philosopher stone, and has given you the honor to represent the royal family in the first ever official meeting with Amestris”

Ling: “Thank you, your highness” (Looking at the Emperor and bending a bit to give respect)

Minister: “But, the Emperor wants to know why do you want to take this little girl of Cheng clan and the inexperienced female bodyguard with you?”

Ling: “Because, I trust these two with my life, your highness”

Listening to that, the emperor started laughing loudly. The ministers also started laughing. After some moment the court again returned to silence when the emperor stopped laughing.

Emperor: “You are such a naïve”

He laughed…

Emperor: “Fine, if you are taking the people you think are trustworthy, then I am also sending two of my most trustworthy and strongest warriors with you. It won’t look good if you die in a foreign country representing the royal family”

Then he looked toward the minister.

Emperor: “Call them”

The minister called two names upon hearing the Emperor’s order.

Minister: “Yin, Yang, come forward”

After the minister finished his sentence, a man and a woman both in their late twenties came from the back and both of them stood beside Ling. Yang was a man (Appearance: Xingese appearance, scar on left eye, well-proportioned physique, black hair with a pony tail style, same attire as Lan Fan with a golden pin with royal mark on the shoulder, height – more than Ling), Yin was a woman (Appearance: Xingese-Amestrian appearance, well-proportioned physique, long black hair with one long thick braid reaching almost to the waist,  same attire as Yin, height- more than Ling but less than Yang) and she  was wearing a black mask while Yang was holding a white mask in his hand

Minister: “Ling Yao, these are the Yin-Yang twins. They are among the…”

Ling: “twelve Zhansi” (fanboying tone) [Zhansi is the Xingese word for warrior]

Yang: “So you know about us, great” (Sarcastic tone)

Minister: “Yin, why are you wearing mask inside the Emperor’s court? It is disrespectful” (Scolding Yin)

Yin: “Sorry my lord”

She removed her mask and, Ling looked at her. Ling’s and few other minister’s mouth was wide open. Watching that Yin replied…

Yin: “See, that’s why I was not removing my mask” (mocking Ling)

Listening to her, Ling looked away embarrassingly, and all the ministers and the Emperor started laughing loudly. A moment later, everyone stopped laughing…

Minister: “It’s not the fault of the young lord. You are so beautiful after all”

Suddenly, the Emperor interrupted…

Emperor: “Yin”

Yin: “Yes, your highness” (bending to the emperor)

Emperor: “Yang”

Yang: “Yes, your highness” (bending to the emperor)

Emperor: “You two are responsible for protecting Ling Yao with your life”

Yin, Yang: “We will protect him with our lives, your highness”

Emperor: “Have a safe journey, Ling of the Yao clan”

Ling: “Thank you, your highness”

All of them bent to pay a final respect to the emperor before their journey to Amestris. After that all four of them left the court. When they came out of the court, Lan Fan was standing there waiting for Ling. Ling and Mei saw her and they walked close to her,

Ling: “I didn’t ask you to wait for me out here you know? You could have stayed there and packed some food for the journey”

Lan Fan: “I already packed enough food for the journey, young lord”

Mei was searching for someone in the meantime.

Mei: “Where is Xiao-Mei” (concerned tone)

Lan Fan: “She was just here, I don’t know where did she go?” (Surprised tone)

Mei started calling out for Xiao-Mei by shouting out her name, “Xiao-Mei, Xiao-Mei”. Lan Fan also helped her to look for Xiao Mei by leaving Ling there along with the Yin Yang twins. Ling was watching both girls looking for Xiao-Mei…

Yin: “Is she your bodyguard?” (Looking at Mei and Lan Fan who were at a distance looking for Xiao-Mei)

Ling: “Yes”

Yin: “What happened to her arm?”

Ling: “She lost it while protecting me against the King of Amestris”

Listening that, Yang interrupted them.

Yang: “So she fought against Fuehrer Bradley?”

Ling: “Not only her, me and Fu (the old man who was the bodyguard of Ling and the grandfather of Lan Fan) too fought against him. He was quite a worthy opponent”

Yang: “I am sure you pulled off some tricks. There is no chance you and your bodyguard can ever beat him” (He chuckled mocking them)

Ling: “I don’t think even you can beat Bradley” (looking at Yang)

Yang looked at Ling with anger because his pride was hurt.

Yang: “But, I am pretty sure I could have given him a good fight… Young… lord, I think you have never heard about Bradley when he was young. He was an unmatched swordsman of Amestris. He had all the qualities of a King, that’s why he was chosen as the King. Based only on his fighting skills when he was in his youth, he could have easily stood among the top 3 Zhansi”

Ling: “You mean in his youth, he was more dangerous? Well, then he could have beaten even the number 1 Zhansi”

Yang: “Do you really think we are so weak?” (Angry tone)

Ling: “I am not saying you are weak. I am just saying he was very strong. If I am not wrong, Fu was the fifth Zhansi in his youth, and he died fighting with Bradley along with a strong Amestrian soldier”

Yang: “Seems like you haven’t seen bigger monsters than Bradley, young lord” (mocking tone)

Ling promised his Amestrian friends that he won’t tell anyone about what happened at Central headquarters or the homunculi so, he restricted himself to talk about Father. The situation between Yang and Ling was getting out of control so, Yin decided to interrupt…

Yin: “Stop, stop, stop Yang. Looks like you are burning… why don’t you go somewhere where you can find some fresh cold air?”

Yang sighed exasperatedly and left the place. After he left…

Yin: “Sorry, he sometimes get angry easily, but I can assure you he is very much reliable”

Ling: “What bigger monsters was he talking about? Did you guys have fought someone more dangerous than Bradley?”

Yin sighed.

Yin: “Our father was also a Zhansi, in fact he was the number one Zhansi. When we were young, we went to Amestris for a tour along with our father, before the beginning of the Ishvalan war. My father thought that as he was on a vacation, he can give sometime to his family at last, but just after one day we arrived at Amestris, our father received an order from Emperor  and he was obliged to fulfill his duty. Our father was a good warrior but, he was not a good spy. Soon, the Amestrian military spotted him when he killed some Amestrian soldiers, and they sent a group of soldiers after him. Yang and I were unknown about the situation when father ran inside the hotel room where we were staying and asked us to get ready, he told that we were leaving, but he never told us the reason. We were successful in evading the military for 2 days and were able to reach the last village in the Eastern region. That was the place where we faced him. He was an Amestrian military officer and, he was blind. When we were at the border, he was already there waiting for us, alone, unarmed…”

**[Flashback - start]**

Yin (10 years old), Yang (10 years old) and their father, Yue Gong (Appearance: Xingese appearance, light facial hair, black long hairs with a bun on the middle of his head and hairs from all sides falling to his shoulders, wearing traditional Xingese attire, he was holding a Katana in his hand) were running through that barren wilderness when they encountered a military soldier on their way, waiting for them, unarmed and alone. He was in his fourties, brown messy hair, wearing an Amestrian soldier uniform of colonel rank and his pupils were clouded. It was clearly visible that the person was blind…

Man: “Sorry, but I can’t let you go any further”

Yue: “Please stand aside, I don’t want to hurt you”

Man: “It’s not you who is going to kill me, I am the one who is going to kill you and take back whatever information you stole”

Yue: “Fine, if that’s the way you want it to be, then pick your weapon”

Yue put his Katana inside the scabbard which was tied on his waist.

Man: “You better pull out your sword”

Yue: “I am not going to fight an unarmed blind man with a weapon”

When he finished his sentence, he saw the man was near him, placing his hands near his face. His hands were covered with green scales and instead of normal fingers, he had claws. The man then transformed his hands back to normal. Watching that, Yue quickly took some steps back to maintain a distance. He looked at the children…

Yue: “You two go, a man named Han will be waiting for you in the desert. I will join you later”

Yin, Yang went toward the desert after listening to their father’s order. After watching his children go, he pulled out his Katana and attacked the Man. The man blocked Yue’s attack by transforming his hands back to the scaly form. Yue fought with swords, kunai knives and even used alkahestry to fight the man, but he was way too fast, strong and agile. Even though when sometimes Yue was able to hit that man with his katana, the man used to protect that area by generating a scaly protection before the hit. Also, if some scales broke during a hard hit, the man was able to instantly create new scales on that area. So, it was practically impossible for Yue to cut him, but he was cut by that man in multiple areas. Yue was bleeding badly and after losing all his strengths, he fell on the ground. The man came near Yue and looked down to him with his clouded eyes…

Man: “You fought valiantly”

Yue laughed out loudly.

Man: “Why are you laughing?” (Cold tone)

Yue: “What a shame, even after getting the title of the greatest warrior in Xing, I got defeated by a blind man” (He laughed)

Man: “I may be blind, but I can see all, I can even see through lies and fear. I can even see the two children who are hiding behind the rock”

Yue: “Of course” (He smiled)

Yue: “Can you spare my children?”

Man: “I was here only to kill you, not your children, but the military which is approaching here might have some different plan”

Yue: “Please…”

Before Yue could say anything, the Man pierced his heart with his hand, and after killing him, he pulled out the document that Yue stole from Yue’s shirt. Watching their father die, Yin and Yang ran toward their father, but before they could reach him, he died. Both the children started crying over their father’s dead body.

Man: “You should go, otherwise the military will capture you”

Both the children could hear the footsteps of Amestrian military closing in. Yang stood up and wiped his tears, he pulled Yin’s hand to get her away from their father’s dead body.

Yang: “Let’s go, if we stay here, we will be caught”

Yang was trying to act tough in front of her crying sister.

Yin: “I don’t want to leave papa here” (Sobbing voice)

Yang: “Papa told us to go, if we get caught by the military then papa’s soul won’t rest in peace” (Stressed tone)

Yin agreed to what her brother said. She stood up and went with her brother toward the great desert. But, before they left...

Man: “Hey kids”

Both the children looked at him, Yin was sobbing and Yang was looking at him with rage.

Man: “Remember my face. I promise you, when you will come to take your revenge, I won’t run. I will face you like I faced your father”

Both of them ran toward the great desert after listening to his words.

**[Flashback – end]**

Yin: “We still aren’t sure if we can fight that man, or whatever he is”

Ling: “Is he still alive?”

Yin: “Yes, in fact we exactly know where he is”

Ling: “So, you are basically going with me to take your revenge”

Yin looked at Ling surprisingly.

Yin: “NO!” (She disagreed with Ling)

Ling: “Okay, okay...I know your duty is more important than your personal grudge. By the way, what was in the document?”

Yin: “The method to create philosopher’s stone”

Ling was stunned listening to the answer. He couldn’t believe that the King sent his best to get the philosopher stone in the past, still the best warrior was defeated, and the person who defeated him was blind with some weird abilities. He kept on thinking, if that man was in Amestris all this time then, why didn’t he come to the battle at central headquarters. In the meantime, Yin spoke…

Yin: “Well then…if you excuse me, I need to do some packing too”

She then closed in to Ling and placed a kiss on his cheek with her pink lips. Ling froze when he received the kiss, he couldn’t understand what was going on. Yin left after that. After a small moment, when Yin left, Ling heard a familiar voice….

Lan Fan: “She is too old for you, you know?”

Ling moved his head to look sideways and saw Lan Fan, Mei standing there, and Xiao-Mei was on Mei’s shoulder. Ling then replied to them with a creepy smile…

Ling: “I know”

Lan Fan and Mei’s eyes widened looking at Ling’s reaction...

Mei: “I didn’t know he was such kind of person” (She moved her head with disagreement showing how pathetic Ling was)

Lan Fan: “She must have done something to young lord”

Suddenly, someone interrupted them…

Hu: “Sorry to interrupt you”

Everyone looked at the man (Appearance: Bald, traditional Xingese attire, same height as Ling, normal physique, wearing sandals rather than shoes, Xingese heritage)…

Hu: “My name is Hu Zemin, I work at the prime minister’s office, and I will be going with you” (He smiled)

The team was ready to leave for Amestris to represent Xing’s first meeting with Amestris. Ling Yao and Mei Chang represented the royal family, Lan Fan and Yin-Yang twins were the bodyguards, and Hu Zemin was the political advisor.


	4. The Unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy finds out the truth about his master's research work on flame alchemy, and in the process Roy and Riza finally express their feelings for each other. In the present time, we see Roy and Oliver have dinner with Riza in her house.While in the north, we see Maria and Danny cross the infamous smuggler's path to reach Drachma, and they meet the person waiting for them, who is going to guide them further in the journey. But, the first encounter with that person gets very dangerous and strange.

After joining the military, Roy got very few holidays to go and meet his Master, Riza and Matilda, still he managed to meet them once in a while. Whenever he went to Hawkeye residence, he enjoyed a good meal with Riza and Matilda, played some games with them, talk and laugh with them, but after he joined the military, his master used to talk with him very less. Gradually, Berthold Hawkeye grew weaker and weaker due to some reasons, he was vomiting blood. Roy searched for many doctors, but he refused to get treated. He kept on saying, his fate was sealed and nothing can be done.

In 1905, which was after 2 years of joining military, Roy graduated. He first went to the people whom he considered as his true family, the Hawkeyes. He himself gave the news to his master about his graduation, who was lying on his bed, weaker than ever. That day, Berthold told Roy about the details of his research and who has it. Roy never thought of asking Riza about the research and focused solely on his Master’s health, but even after doing as much as he could, Berthold died after few days. He made sure that his master receive a proper burial. There were no people on Berthold’s funeral day except Roy, Riza and Matilda, and it was not surprising, considering that the man had little to no connection to the outside world. Roy never understood why his Master was so alone, why he shut himself from the outside world. After the funeral was over, Matilda went to Hawkeye residence while Roy and Riza were standing in front of Berthold’s grave.

Riza: “You have done so much…I don’t think I can thank you enough”

Roy: “It’s the least I can do, after everything he taught me”

Roy took out a contact card and gave it to Riza.

Roy: “You should take it…You can call me in the military if you need to… Let me guess…you also don’t approve of me becoming a soldier. Your father told me, soldiers are left to die like trash on the side of the road. That may be but, I know it’s the only way to make a difference and I know I will never be happy if I don’t try to make this country a better place… Man… that must have sounded pretty childish huh?” (He smirked)

Riza looked at him

Riza: “Not at all, there is nothing childish about caring. I like to believe that you are serious about this, that you really do care… Can I trust you Roy…with my father’s research?”

Roy: “What do you think?”

Riza: “I think…I can…”

Roy: “Let’s go home”

They started walking toward home.

Roy: “I hope you know how to make stew” (mocking Riza)

Riza: “Then why don’t you ask Ms. Becker to make you some stew?”

Roy stopped and looked at Riza with wide eyes and an open mouth.

Roy: “Don’t do this to me Miss Riza. I will definitely die without your stew, please prepare me some” (funny tone)

Riza: “Okay, okay…stop it, I will make some stew” (She said while chuckling)

Both of them again started moving toward home.

Riza: “Looks like you hit your head somewhere today” (She smiled)

After reaching home, Roy and Riza sat at the dining hall and saw the dishes were already prepared, but Matilda was not there.

Riza: “Looks like Ms. Becker went to her home, she told me she had some work and will be coming at late night. Anyways, I still have to prepare some stew to make sure you won’t die” (She smiled)

Roy: “Do you need any help?”

Riza: “Yes… I would appreciate that”

They prepared the dinner like old times and after having dinner they talked, remembering the sweet happy memories of the past and laughing.

Riza: “Hey Roy… do you remember back when I was resting under the tree beside the lake?”

Roy: “Oh come on now…you had to bring that? I swear, when you were closing your eyes and lying under that tree…I thought you were sleeping. So, I was putting that bug on your face”

Riza: “But, your prank backfired at you…didn’t it?”

Roy: “Man…you punched me very hard on my face. I was dizzy for a moment” (Riza laughed remembering that instance)

Roy went silent for a moment to hear Riza laughing. When she stopped...

Roy: “Riza”

Riza: “hmmm?”

Roy: “When did Master completed his research?”

The environment turned serious from a fun one. Riza was quite for a while and when she answered him after that pause, she didn’t look at his face.

Riza: “He completed it 6 years ago (Roy was shocked hearing that).But, soon after he completed his research, he found that somehow the military got to know about it. He feared that his research might go into the wrong hand so, he burnt all his research work. Few days later, the military came to our house and asked him to give up the research as he was not willing to work for them. He told them the truth but, they didn’t believe him and searched the whole house and found nothing. They took many of the notes and books my father had with them”

Roy couldn’t believe after so much time he spent with his Master, he never learnt flame alchemy and now after knowing the truth, he was feeling like a loser.

Roy: “How can that be? You yourself told me that you have Master’s research” (curious voice)

Riza: “Yes, I have it. Before he burned all his research work, he made a copy of it to make sure that his research do not go to waste”

Roy: “Can you show me?” (Enthusiastic tone)

Riza looked at him.

Riza: “My father devoted himself so much toward alchemy that he forgot he had a family. Even when my mother was ill, he never came to sit near her and talk to her for a moment…I hope you won’t become like my father”

Roy felt bad and decided not to reply on that. There was silence for some time.

Riza: “It’s ok. I know how desperate you were to learn alchemy from my father…it’s getting late and you have a train to catch tomorrow…please come with me”

She took him to the study room and closed the door. Roy was standing near the door and she moved a bit farther from him and was facing away from him and started removing her top. Roy started feeling uncomfortable watching a young woman stripping her clothes off.

Roy: “Hey Ri… Riza, I know you like me but, d…don’t you think we are rushing things? Ri…Riza I like you too b…b…but, you are making things aw…awkward. Please st…”   

Roy kept on looking at the floor and Riza, back and forth, hoping that Riza would stop stripping. He was also clueless about what he was speaking at that time. After sometime she was topless and was covering her front with her bare hands. Roy stopped speaking when he saw her back, he was stunned for a moment; her whole back was covered with a tattoo.

Roy: “What is this?” (Stressed tone)

Riza: “It is the research work my father told you about” (Hesitant tone)

Roy: “Damn it…” (He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists)

Roy could see that she was feeling embarrassed and ashamed. Roy couldn’t see her like that, so he removed his coat and covered her.

Roy: “I couldn’t have imagined that out of all people, Master was capable of doing something so inhuman…That bastard…How could someone do something like this to his own daughter? Was everything for him merely a subject for his research? And all this time he was lecturing me on helping others…What a hypocrite” (Angry tone)

Riza turned around and looked into Roy’s eyes; they were filled with rage. When he saw Riza looking at him, he calmed down.

Roy: “Don’t worry; I will never treat you like that” (persuasive tone)

He smiled after saying that, giving her some hope. Those simple words gave her courage, she felt safe, and hugged him. Suddenly, Roy spoke

Roy: “R...R…Riza c…can you p…p…please stop hugging me?”

Riza stopped hugging her.

Riza: “What happened?”

The coat that Riza was wearing was enough to cover her upper body even though it was unbuttoned but, still Roy’s face was red.

Riza: “Why are you red like a tomato?”

Roy lowered his head looking toward the floor.

Roy: “Your…Ch…Chest was touching me” (shy tone)

He started blushing more and listening to his reply, Riza started blushing. She stood at her position for a moment and then, she got near him and smooched him on his lips. Roy was stunned by Riza’s action.

Riza: “I love you Roy Mustang”

Roy smiled listening to her and looked at her.

Roy: “Master must be mad at us right now” (He smiled)

She chuckled listening to his reply.

Roy: “I love you Riza Elizabeth Hawkeye and I will keep on loving you until my last breath”

Love is a very strong bond existing between two people, and certain circumstances strengthen those bonds more, it was a situation like that. That was the time when they confessed their feeling for each other, although it was more like a vow than a confession. He kissed her and she kissed him back. They were too much into each other at that moment, she always saw him as her best friend, but that moment clearly led their relationship to a more beautiful path. After sometime, Riza pulled away from him, they both were smiling and blushing, as it was first kiss for both of them.

Riza: “I think you should see the research work… that’s more important right now”

She told him blushingly and with a smile on her face. Roy was also looking very happy.

Roy: “Fine...let me bring a pen so that I can make notes”

Riza removed the coat but, this time she was very much comfortable. Before noting it down, he started moving his index finger on her back.

Riza: “What are you doing Roy?”

Roy: “It’s the way I study”

Riza turned around and looked at him by lifting one of her eyebrow.

Riza: “Reeaaaly? Cz I never saw you read any book like that”

Roy was busted and started laughing hesitantly. He then started noticing Riza’s bare breasts and his face turned red like a tomato. Riza noticed that and quickly turned around with a mild annoyance.

Riza: “You know it is cold here, right? AND I AM WEARING NOTHING.”

Roy: “Sorry, I am making the notes ma’am”

Riza smiled listening to his reply and Roy started making the notes.

After finishing the notes, Roy kissed her back.

Roy: “Sorry ma’am but, my lips moved by themselves”

Riza wore her top again and turned around. She smooched him on his lips.

Riza: “I guess, mine lips also moved by themselves”

Both laughed a lot that night and got to sleep on a single bed under the same blanket with Roy holding her all night. Next morning Roy was getting ready to go to the station. Riza was looking at him.

Roy: “Don’t worry. I will be coming back as soon as I can.”

He kissed her.

Matilda was standing there, looking at them surprisingly.

Matilda: “What happened between you two last night?”

Riza, Roy: “Nothing”

They replied quickly as soon as they heard that question and started acting awkwardly. Matilda looked at Roy…

Matilda: “Then why did you kiss her on the lips?”

Roy started stuttering when he saw Matilda’s angry face, and Riza was looking at the floor avoiding any direct contact with Matilda.

Matilda: “Now go, otherwise you will miss your train” (Mild angry tone)

Roy picked up his small bag…

Roy: “Take care…”

Riza: “Please don’t die…” (In a worried tone)

Roy smiled at her and replied.

Roy: “How can I die? I have a beautiful country and two beautiful woman to live for after all”

Those words brought a smile on Riza’s face, which he embedded into his memories before leaving for the train station.

 

Two months passed, Roy passed the state alchemist exam. He was assigned under Colonel Ludwig in Central City. After being involved in an operation which took 2 weeks to complete, he was praised by Ludwig due to his excellent performance. Roy’s good work story also reached the ears of General Grumman in East City. He knew Roy and also about his relationship with Riza. He gave him a mission at his granddaughter’s hometown after talking to Roy on telephone one day, not because he wanted to give Roy some time to meet Riza, but because Roy was well aware of that area and he was a state alchemist over that. Grumman knew that Roy very much wanted to meet Riza so, he gave him an opportunity in the form of a mission. Roy was happy that after long time he could meet Riza. He never told anyone about his relationship with Riza, except his foster mother, Chris Mustang (aka Madame Christmas), who also happened to be his aunt. She was an information broker and was an ally of General Grumman. Before leaving for Riza’s hometown, he went to Colonel Ludwig to get the information for the mission and later visited Madame Christmas at her bar before catching the train. At the bar…

Chris: “Roy! How are you doing?”

Roy: “Fine… So why did you call me?”

Chris: “I have a thing that I need you to give it to your friend”

 Roy: “But, you never met her… what can you possibly give her?”

She took out a small jewelry box and gave it to Roy. When Roy opened the box he saw a silver ear stud.

Roy: “Hmm… Silver stud…Don’t you think there should be two instead of just one, because last time I remember she had 2 ears and not one” (Sarcastic tone)

Chris: “Just give it to her”

Roy: “Fine…”

Chris: “Have you told Hughes about her, he will be the one to be amazed the most”

Roy: “No, I have a bigger plan. I want him to meet her face to face, I want to see Hughes in that situation”

He burst into laugh just imagining the situation, after all he had the perfect chance to tease his best friend who was finding a girl for himself but was not successful yet. After a moment he stopped laughing, said goodbye to Madam Chris and left the bar, and went for the station to catch the train. He arrived at Riza’s hometown next morning and took a ride to her home. After reaching there, he knocked the door and as expected, Riza opened the door. He looked at her; she was smiling and looking back at him. She was reaching out to hug him but, before she could hug him, he carried her on his arms with a surprise and took her inside the house and closed the door with his foot.  He took her to the sofa and gently put her, then he leaned close to her face and kissed her, and she kissed him back. It was a long kiss before they separated. When they separated, Roy saw Ms. Becker standing few feet away from him, she was staring at him.

Matilda: “Hello Roy” (petulant tone)

Riza stood up from the sofa when she heard the voice. Both were standing beside each other and were blushing, they looked like some school kids who were about to get punished by the principal.

Roy: “Hello Ms. Becker…sorry I didn’t know you were here”

Matilda: “I am happy that you came back…Riza was missing you, though I was hoping to see you with some broken bones or swelled face” (mocking tone)

Roy: “Sorry to disappoint you” (He grinned)

Matilda: “I was thinking of taking Riza with me for some grocery shopping, but now you are here, I don’t think she will go with me”

Riza: “I can …”

Before Riza could complete her sentence, Matilda had left. Riza then looked at Roy…

Riza: “So, how many days are you going to stay?”

Roy: “I am here actually for an assignment, they don’t give vacations in military, you know”

Riza: “Did my grandfather assigned you on this mission?”

Roy started laughing hesitantly.

Roy: “Yes, he did…I am hungry by the way… can I have some breakfast first?”

Riza understood that he did not want to talk about it anymore. Riza had only seen her grandfather in newspaper and talked with him on telephone, so starting a topic on him to talk was not a feasible option.

Riza: “Would you like some egg and bacon?”

Roy: “I would love it”

Riza prepared breakfast for Roy and they had breakfast together. After finishing the breakfast, they relaxed at the sofa; Riza rested her head on Roy’s shoulder while Roy wrapped his right hand around Riza. They were enjoying the moment for some time without talking; just enjoying each other’s embrace was enough for them. Sometime later Roy said.

Roy: “Hey Riza!”

Riza: “Hmm?”

Roy: “I forgot to give you something… I think it’s in my bag”

He opened his bag and took out a jewelry box.

Roy: “Here it is… a gift for you” (Giving the box to Riza)

Riza took the box and opened it. She paused for a moment when she saw that silver stud.

Roy: “Riza…are you alright?”

Riza: “Oh Roy…thank you…thank you so much” (she was very happy)

She hugged him and kissed him on his cheek out of happiness…

Riza: “Where did you find this?”

Roy: “My aunt gave me this… I had no idea how much it meant to you… I am glad you got this”

Riza: “This is the only thing I have from my mother. She gave it to me when I was 6…I remember I cried a lot when I lost one of the studs some days after she gave them to me (she chuckled). I don’t know how can I ever thank you?”

Roy: “A kiss would be enough” (He smirked)

Riza laughed with Roy giving her company.

Riza: “I think I can do that”

She closed in to Roy and kissed his lips, again a long kiss. She pushed back from him after sometime.

Roy: “Well…let’s go out…It has been a long time since I visited the lake.”

Riza: “That sounds good…”

They went to the lake and were resting under the black olive tree. Riza was moving her fingers through Roy’s hair who was resting his head on Riza’s lap while she was sitting.

Roy: “Riza”

Riza: “Yes?”

Roy: “Do you know anything about Krid Novak?”

Riza: “Not much…all I know is, he is blind and he seems kind of scary”

Roy: “I heard he came here just a year back?”

Riza: “Yes, people say he was a soldier and he lost his eyes during the war. So, he retired.”

Roy moved his head from Riza’s lap and sat.

Roy: “I think we should head to home, it is almost evening and I would really like to have some Riza Hawkeye’s special stew at dinner”

Riza laughed listening to his request.

Riza: “Sure Major Mustang” (She said while laughing)

Roy laughed listening to her. When they stopped laughing, Roy asked Riza

Roy: “Can you go home on your own? I have some work”

Riza didn’t ask him about the work as he already told her he was on an assignment there.

Riza: “okay” (she smiled)

Riza went home and Roy went to Krid’s house which was at an isolated place, even the nearest house was 300m away. His job was to collect as much as data on Krid, he was given a time window of 1 week, after which he had to report to General Grumman at Eastern command. He also paid some local people to monitor Krid when he was not around. After monitoring Krid’s house for some hours, he went home. He knocked the door and shouted,

Roy: “Honey, I am hooome”

Someone opened the door but, it was not Riza.

Matilda: “You know, you aren’t married yet, right?” (Petulant tone)

Roy didn’t say anything and entered inside the house. He saw Riza was sitting at the dining table, smiling at him. After changing his clothes and getting fresh, he joined Riza and Matilda at the dining. They had dinner together, and then Roy and Riza rested on the sofa with each other’s embrace. They spent some time in that sofa talking to each other. Matilda didn’t disturb them and went to sleep.

Roy: “I think it’s time to sleep. I am going to my old room”

Riza: “Ms. Becker is living in your old room; you can stay at my father’s room if you want”

Roy: “works for me”

Both were going to the bedrooms, Riza’s room was near her father’s room. When she reached her room, she and Roy stopped; Riza opened her door and looked at Roy.

Riza: “It’s goodnight then” (Hesitant tone)

Roy kissed her on her lips and said “Goodnight” with a smile. Riza’s heart started beating fast and She felt an urge to kiss him back, so she reached out to Roy’s lips and kissed him; Roy gave up to that moment and kissed her back. He took her inside the room while both of them were kissing and he closed the door by pushing it with his foot. Roy slowly moved his lips to her neck and began undressing her. Slowly he removed all her clothes as she removed all his clothes. Then he carried her on his arms and took her to the bed. That night, both of them expressed their feelings to the fullest. Next morning, both were awake and were on the bed. Riza was resting her head on Roy’s chest where she could clearly hear Roy’s heartbeat and Roy was staring at the ceiling while embracing her.

Roy: “Do you think your father would have approved any of this…even though he was a monster?”

Riza: “I can’t tell if he was monster or angel but, he was certainly not a good father…I can’t tell if he had approved or not but, he trusted you with everything he had, most importantly, he trusted you with me or… you can say with his research work”

Roy: “Well I don’t know why he never approved of me joining the military”

Riza: “He also hated my grandfather because grandfather is in military”

Roy: “He was right about many things though…Riza…can you promise me one thing?” (Worried voice)

She looked at him while he was staring at the ceiling.

Riza: “What promise?”

Roy: “If something happens to me, I want you to keep on living. I am very lucky that you love me…whenever I think of my past, I feel happy that I chose to learn alchemy from your father and I got far more than that I could have ever asked for…you have already given me far more than what I deserve”

Riza: “Nothing will happen to you Mr. Mustang, you have a long way to go and I promise you, I will always be by your side no matter what”

Roy: “Then you should also join the military” (mocking tone)

Roy chuckled.

She kissed his chin and smiled.

Days passed on, Roy’s assignment was coming to an end, he collected as much as data from other people of that town, and monitored all of Krid’s daily activity. Every day Krid used to go to the lake and sit there for a while. Roy took advantage of this opportunity and went to the lake along with Riza to have Krid under surveillance, and being with Riza was also a good cover. Time passed and the last night was there, Roy was going to leave for central next morning. Both were uncomfortable, they were having the most happy moments of their life in those days and now they had to separate. Like all nights they had been together, Riza was resting her head on Roy’s chest and Roy was embracing her while staring at the ceiling.

Roy: “It might be a bit long the next time I return but, the next time I return… I am going to marry you and take you with me”

Riza’s eyes were widened out of surprise and she was staring at him.

Roy: “What? Don’t you want to marry me?” (Looking at her)

Riza: “What about making this country a better place before your own happiness Mr. Roy Mustang? (Mocking tone)

Roy: “Can’t a married man do that?”

Riza: “Yes…he can” (she smiled)

Riza: “I have one problem though”

Roy looked at her curiously.

Roy: “What?”

Riza: “You just can’t say that you will marry me, you know? You need my permission for that”

Roy understood what Riza was implying, so he grinned and moved out of the bed in his underwear. He sat on the floor on his knees, he asked Riza to sit on the edge of the bed, her legs hanging while she was sitting at the edge. He then held her hands and looked into her amber eyes, which made her blush…

Roy: “Riza Elizabeth Hawkeye…do you remember, the time when you asked me, who will be this idiot’s queen?”

Riza: “Yes” (She smiled)

Roy: “Well, I have an answer now…would you mind becoming this idiot’s queen?”

Riza: “Yes (she was looking very happy). After all only a smart queen can stop an idiot king from doing idiot things” (mocking tone)

After listening to Riza’s answer, Roy couldn’t hold his laugh, and Riza laughed along with him. After the laughter stopped…

Roy: “Riza”

Riza: “hmm?”

Roy: “I promise I will return as fast as I can. Can you wait for me till then?”

Riza looked at him and held his hands more tightly…

Riza: “I will wait you for eternity if you ask me to”

The next morning Roy left for Central City and she watched him go, so that he can return and take her with him.

 

**[Present day]**

The office time was over early, everyone was about to go their home, Riza was keeping some books and files in the bookshelf. Roy was sitting at his desk looking at her, he spoke while she was keeping the books.

Roy: “Major”

Riza: “Yes?” (She was still busy with the bookshelf)

Roy: “Do you have any plan tonight?”

She turned around.

Riza: “No…why would you ask?”

Roy: “Oliver was missing your handmade stew, so if you don’t mind, Oliver and I will be coming for dinner to your home tonight”

Havoc looked at Roy.

Havoc: “Chief, why only you and your son want to go for dinner? We can also join you.”

Roy: “Don’t you have other plans?”

Havoc: “What’s more important than dinner prepared by Hawkeye, right guys?”

Everybody supported him with a “yes”. Roy was looking at him with an angry look.

Riza: “It’s okay, I can prepare dinner for all of you, and Oliver will get to know everyone” (She said while smiling)

Riza: “By the way, I will appreciate some help, unless you want to share food with Hayate”

Roy stood up.

Roy: “Okay everyone…go with Major Hawkeye and help her with the preparation”

Everyone was shocked, they thought they were going to get some free meals, there was no way they could have helped Riza with the preparation. Thinking of helping her with dinner was horrifying; it was enough for them to follow Riza’s order at office.

Havoc: “Chief…I remembered now that I have a date tonight, I don’t think I can make it”

Falman: “Boss…my wife is sick, so I won’t be coming”

Breda: “I also got some urgent work, sorry Major Hawkeye”

Roy and Riza saw everyone leaving the office, only Fuery was there.

Roy: “Officer Fuery…don’t you have anything?”

Fuery: “No Sir, I don’t want to ruin your dinner plan, don’t get me wrong but, I want to take some rest tonight, that’s all” (He said with a mild laugh)

Roy: “Fine then. Oliver and I will be coming for dinner” (He said looking at Riza)

Riza: “I will be waiting. Now if you will excuse me, I got to go home. Meet you at dinner General”

Riza left the office after saying that.

 

 

**[Later that evening]**

Riza just finished placing all the dishes on her small dining table when she heard someone knocking at the door; she opened it and saw two gentlemen standing, wearing suits without a tie, Oliver was holding a bouquet of 5-6 yellow lilies and Roy was holding a bouquet of 5-6 pink lilies. Both were standing, waiting to be welcomed inside.

Roy: “Hello Major, hope we are in time.”

Oliver: “Hello Ma’am”

Both of them offered the bouquet of lilies to Riza. She thanked both of them with a smile and took the bouquets. In the meantime, Hayate came from inside upon hearing Roy’s voice and started running around Roy’s feet and barking, wagging his tail.

Roy: “Oh hello Hayate!”

Riza: “Why you two are wearing suits?”

Roy: “It’s the first time Oliver has come to your house, so he asked me to wear one”

Riza: “Please get inside” (She said while laughing)

Roy and Oliver got inside the house, there was no decoration stuff in her house. Even though, when Roy looked at the dining table, he saw a beautiful table cloth covering it, with a small flower vase with some white lilies in it was at the center of the table. Also, there were five different dishes present at the table. Those things didn’t seem odd to Oliver because he didn’t know Riza like Roy who was surprised and knew very well why Riza did that, she was looking very happy. Riza went toward the dining table and picked up all the lilies in the vase except one, she then picked up a yellow lily from the bouquet and put it in the vase. Watching that, Oliver looked at Roy and started smiling and teasing Roy without making noise, so that Riza doesn’t notice. While Oliver was teasing his father, Roy smiled at Oliver and pointed toward the vase which now contained a white, a yellow and a pink lily. Watching that Oliver stopped teasing Roy, Riza then put the rest of the flowers near her awards, and looked at Roy and Oliver…

Riza: “I think you two must be hungry”

Oliver: “I am very much hungry, I don’t know about dad though”

Riza: “Let’s eat then”

All three of them sat at the small dining table like a family they always wanted to be. Riza poured some food on Oliver’s and Roy’s plate.

Oliver: “Wow Ma’am, you always know what I like”

Riza smiled and served all the dishes she prepared for them. While eating, Oliver was calling Hayate to feed him some of his food.

Riza: “You can play with him later Oli. Hayate has his own food, you don’t need to feed him”

Hearing that Hayate barked with agreement.

Oliver: “Dad told me that you live alone with Hayate”

Riza looked at Hayate who was also eating his dinner on the floor.

Riza: “Yes...Hayate is like a son to me”

Oliver: “He also told me that you are very strict, but you always treat me nicely whenever we meet…sometimes you scold me though, but that is fine”

Riza: “I am only strict to people who don’t behave, like your dad”

Roy: “So, I don’t behave, hmm?”

They spent the time by eating and talking. After finishing the dinner…

Riza: “Oli, I have something else too”

Oliver: “What is it Ma’am”

Riza: “Wait, let me bring it”

She went to the kitchen and brought an ample amount of ice cream in two bowls. Oliver was very happy when he saw those bowls.

Oliver: “YOU ARE AWESOME Ma’am”

Roy: “You are not going to have some?” (Looking at Riza)

She replied Roy while looking at Oliver eating ice cream.

Riza: “No, I got something sweeter than ice cream”

Roy smiled when he saw Riza happy. After sometime, Roy and Oliver decided to leave. They were standing at the door.

Roy: “Thank you for the dinner Major”

Riza: “It’s my pleasure General”

Oliver: “Oh…oh…I forgot to give you something”

Riza: “What is it Oli?”

Oliver pulled a small sheet from his pocket and gave it to Riza. The sheet was folded so she unfolded it. It was a drawing of a smiling girl standing beside a tree with her hands behind and her feet joined showing shyness.

Oliver: “How is it Ma’am?”

Riza: “Who is this girl?”

Oliver: “I copied it from a photo of yours my dad had; he told me that a photographer took this photo when you were a girl. I know that drawing is not that good but, I tried my best”

She stopped for a moment, looked at Roy and smiled. Roy felt awkward even though he knew that Riza knew he kept her childhood photograph. Riza then bent down to give a kiss on Oliver’s cheek.

Riza: “Thank you Oli” (She tousled his hair affectionately)

Oliver: “You are welcome” (He smiled)

Roy: “You are a pretty lucky guy, you know? You got Hawkeye’s kiss”

Hayate barked with agreement, wagging his tail. Oliver smiled.

Riza: “I think you should go now, it’s already late and you have your school tomorrow”

Roy: “Goodnight Major”

Oliver: “Goodnight Ma’am. Goodnight Hayate, I will meet you tomorrow”

Oliver bent down and tousled Hayate’s head to which Hayate responded with a bark.

Riza: “Goodnight you two”

Riza closed the door when they left, she was very happy. She took the drawing into her bedroom and put it in the drawer beside her bed after placing a kiss on it. While sleeping…

Riza: {Maybe I should tell Oliver the truth, there is no point in hiding it anymore. Maybe I can tell him after his school tomorrow}

She slept thinking about how she was going to tell Oliver whatever truth she was hiding from him and, how he was going to react after listening to the truth.

 

 

 

**[In Briggs, 8:00 AM in the morning]**

General Armstrong was at the gate along with Miles, who was standing right beside her. There were 4 more person standing there, Maria Ross, Danny Brosh and 2 Briggs soldiers. The snowy wind was blowing very fast, almost decreasing the visibility to 0.

Miles: “These two will help you cross the border, and take you to the nearest safe point. When you reach the nearest safe point, you will find a person named Boris, he will then lead you to Othon. Your mission is to collect information on the secret weapon they are planning to use against Amestris as soon as possible. You have 30 days at maximum to find out about their secret weapon. Any questions?”

Maria: “Is Boris the secret operative you were talking about?”

Olivier: “No, he is a Drachmann. He just has some grudge on Drachmann government, he will help anyone who stands against his country’s government. Any more questions?”

Maria and Danny were afraid of the way she was looking at them.

Maria: “No Ma’am”

Olivier: “Then leave” (stoic tone)

Both of them saluted General Armstrong and went with the soldiers to the smuggler’s path. The name smuggler’s path was well known both in Amestris and Drachma. Everyone knew about the path because the path was very tricky and dangerous, so it was hard to guard and it was very difficult for any person to go on that path. Generally, the militaries of both the nation didn’t guard the path as there were multiple entrances and, normally nobody took those paths due to the dangers inside the path. Smuggler’s path was therefore also known as “path to the afterlife”, as no sane person dared to take that path.

In the way…

Danny: “I heard that the smuggler’s path is not a safe route”

Soldier 1: “Yes, but don’t worry, we will take you there safely”

Maria: “How many times have you gone through this path?”

Soldier 2: “Well, I haven’t crossed the path ever”

Hearing that, Maria and Danny stopped walking.

Danny, Maria: “WHAT!”

Soldier 1: “Don’t worry, I have crossed the path”

Danny and Maria heaved a sigh of relief, and started walking.

Soldier 1: “But, still the path has lots of uncertainties”

Danny: “Why are you scaring us?” (Worried tone)

Soldier 2: “You should be scared, after all it’s called the path to the afterlife”

Both soldier started laughing after that. Danny and Maria stopped listening to their scary stories and followed them. After an hour of walk, they reached a place where the soldiers stopped walking.

Maria: “Why did you stop?”

Soldier 1: “We are here”

Soldier1 walked a bit forward, near the bottom of a mountain which seemed to be like a door covered with snow. The soldier moved his hand over that door shaped mountain bottom to wipe snow. Soon a 5 feet X 6 feet doorway appeared blocked by crystallized water. Both the soldiers pulled out hammers with chisel face and started breaking the crystallized water. The crystal was thin so, it broke in just some minutes. After clearing the blockage, they entered inside the cave, it was very dark inside so they lighted up the lanterns they brought with them. When it was lighted, they saw the cave, it was huge and there were lots of paths inside as if it was a maze.

Danny: “Great, now there so many paths to choose from, yay” (Sarcastic tone)

Soldier 1: “There are more dangerous things here”

Danny: “Like what?”

Soldier 2: “Bears”

Danny, Maria: “WHAT!”

Soldier 2: “Just kidding” (He laughed)

Soldier 1: “Why you two are so afraid? If you’re so scared here, then why are you even going to the enemy territory?”

Danny: “Who said we are afraid? We were just surprised” (laughing hesitantly)

Maria: “Yes, he is right” (laughing hesitantly)

Soldier 1: “Now follow me, and whatever happens, do not separate” (serious tone)

All of them then advanced further into the cave. There was too much darkness inside the cave, they could only see only few meters around them. When it came to first soldier to choose a path among several paths which were available, he put his ears on the floor and then selected the leftmost path in front of them. Watching that, Danny and Maria were confused. While walking…

Maria: “How did you choose this path?”

Soldier 2: “There is a small water channel flowing below this cave. If you place your head on the floor and listen carefully, you can hear the water flow. Based on that, you can predict from where the water is flowing and then you can follow the sound of water channel, it will straight up lead you to the exit. But, it can’t be done by everyone”

Maria: “I see. By the way, we were never got to introduce each other…my name is Maria Ross”

Danny: “I am Sergeant Major Danny Brosch from Central Command”

Soldier 2: “I am Sergeant Ronny Williams, and he is Second Lieutenant Steven Hill”

Ronny: “Lieutenant is also known as the Angel. Not because he is a good person, but he is the only person in Briggs who can come and go through ‘the path to the afterlife’” (mocking tone)

Ronny started laughing after telling that, and listening to his explanation, Danny and Maria also started laughing. Suddenly, Steven warned…

Steven: “EVERYBODY STOP WHEREVER YOU ARE STANDING”

Everyone got scared and stood still at the place where they were standing. Soon after that, they got there answer to why Steven asked them to stop, they could now hear ice cracking. All of them looked to the floor to see where was the ice cracking, and unfortunately the floor over which Ronny was standing, was cracking.

Steven: “This is what you get when you make fun of the person who is guiding you” (He mocked Ronny and smiled)

Ronny’s face was full of fear.

Ronny: “Sorry Lieutenant, please help me” (Panicked tone)

Steven: “Stop whining you idiot. If General Armstrong finds out that there is a whiner in her unit, then just imagine what she will do to you”

Ice below Ronny started making more cracking noise, this made Ronny more scared. Steven pulled out a rope he brought with him and stretched it toward Ronny. Ronny held the rope

Steven: “Looks like that is a pothole covered by thin ice. It doesn’t look that wide though, but if you fall, you might die”

Ronny: “WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO SCARE ME?” (Panicked tone)

Steven: “You two stay there. It seems you are safe” (Looking at Danny and Maria)

Danny and Maria nodded with agreement.

Steven: “Now jump Ronny”

Ronny took a deep breath and jumped toward Steven. As soon as he jumped, the floor below him broke, and a pothole of around 1 square meter appeared. Out of curiosity, everyone closed in to the pothole to see what was below it. When they gazed, there was only darkness, so they tied a piece of fabric on a small stick and lit it with fire, and then they threw it inside the pothole. The stick dropped approximately 20 feet down, and after that they could see what was below there. The scene below there was horrifying, their eyes were widened watching the scene. The place was covered with human skeletons.

Maria: “This doesn’t seem like these people took this path just to smuggle things or people between Drachma and Amestris”

Steve: “If I am not wrong, then these bodies are from the first northern wars, when Amestris attacked Drachma to capture a big part of it. After defeating Drachmann army, Amestris built a wall in Briggs to block the open area between Drachma and the newly captured part by Amestrian military, which is now known as Fort Briggs”

Maria: “And the part of the northern border is blocked by mountains. So, if Drachma ever had to attack Amestris, then there only option was through Fort Briggs”

Steve: “Right. Now let’s leave, and let them rest in peace”

They left the area after that. Now that Steve knew there is danger of potholes, he first used to examine the path before proceeding there. After sometime, they followed every safe and correct route, and got out of that cave. When they got out of the cave, everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

Steve: “We are in enemy territory now, we cannot stay here, and the safe point is only 5 miles away from here. We need to get there and then only we can relax”

Danny, Maria, Ronny: “Yes Sir”

They left the place, and walked toward the safe point. They were walking through light snow fall and chilling wind, there legs were knee deep in snow. Walking 5 miles like that was a very difficult task, so they used to take stop for some time after every 1 mile of walk. Maintaining the same pace, they walked 4 miles, while walking…

Danny: “I didn’t know getting into Drachma would be this difficult” (hyperventilated tone)

Ronny: “You two are really bad in these kind of areas” (mocking tone)

Steve: “So, you served under Maes Hughes, in the department of military intelligence”

Danny: “Yes”

Steve: “So, have you been to any other spy mission before this?”

Maria: “Very few”

Suddenly, Danny stopped walking for some reason. Watching him, Ronny asked…

Ronny: “What happened? Do you want to take a break so early?”

Danny didn’t listen to him and walked toward a pine tree whose branches were covered with snow. There was very less snow under that tree. After reaching near the tree, he bent down to see something, it was bloomed flower with white petals and a white stem. There were no leaves on the flower and it was a single small plant of about few inches long, with a single stem and a single bloomed flower.

Danny: “Wow, look at this flower. In a region and weather like this, its blooming like the world around it doesn’t matter”

Hearing him, everyone rushed toward him to look at the flower he was talking about. Everyone was amazed to look at the flower

Steve: “If I am not wrong, it is the undying flower – ‘Harmonia’ “

Ronny, Danny, Maria: “WHAT!”

Ronny: “How can that be? Harmonia is a very rare flower…we can’t just happen to be come across one”

Steve: “Yes, it’s rare, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist”

Danny: “I have heard, these flowers are sold at millions of cenz in Amestris”

Steve: “Yes, it’s such a rare and magnificent flower after all. Now, pluck it, consider it a good omen”

Maria: “Will it be okay to pluck it?”

Steve: “There is a reason it is called the undying flower… pluck it, this flower will appear the same even after years”

Maria moved her hand toward the flower and plucked it. She then looked at Ronny and Danny who were uncomfortable with the fact that she got the million cenz flower.

Maria: “Don’t worry. I won’t take it…we will later decide what to do with this flower” (Annoyed tone)

Steve: “It will be better if you hide that flower. If anyone else finds about this flower, then they might kill us to take it” (Serious tone)

After listening to Steve, Maria put the flower in a small box she had, and put the box in her bag. They then moved further toward the safe point. After sometime they reached the safe point, it was abandoned war camp. There were bunkers, but no soldier was present there. They moved forward and stopped at the entry point of the bunker.

Steve: “I am going inside, Danny will come with me and rest of you, keep an eye outside and warn us if somethings go wrong”

After giving them the order, Steve and Danny went inside the bunker. It was dark inside the bunker, so Danny was holding a lantern to light the way and Steve was holding his rifle in shooting stance, both of them were moving more inside the bunker. Suddenly, they heard some object fall on the floor. Steve thought it must be Boris, so he shouted …

Steve: “BORIS, IS THAT YOU?”

Just after Steve stopped calling for Boris, they heard lots of object were falling on the floor at a distant. Steve gave his rifle to Danny and took the lantern he was holding to see what was in front of them. When light of the lantern reached a little farther, they saw some big animal was approaching toward them slowly. Soon, they could see it when it came to the light, it was a big brown bear.

Steve: “Danny, get ready to run. And, keep on shouting so that Maria and Ronny get warned”

Danny: “hmm”

Danny was afraid, he had never seen such a big carnivore in his entire life. The bear was looking at them, and both of them were looking at the bear with fear. The bear roared…

Steve: “RUN”

Both of them turned around and started running toward the entry point. The bear was chasing them, and according to Steve’s order, Danny was running shouting, “BEAR, BEAR, RUN”. Maria and Ronny looked toward the bunker after listening to Danny’s voice. They saw Danny and Steve running toward them, and soon they saw the bear which was behind them. They understood what to do and started running. Even after coming out of the bunker, the bear was chasing them. While they were running, they saw a man (Appearance: He was wearing a beanie cap and some hairs were coming out from the cap on his forehead, light beard, no moustache, light brown skin color, wearing a white fur coat, well-toned physique, height – a little less than 6 feet, 40 years old) was standing at a distance in front of them, Steve shouted…

Steve: “ARE YOU BORIS?”

Boris: “YES”

Steve: “RUN, THERE IS A BEAR BEHIND US. WE CAN TALK LATER”

They just crossed Boris after saying that. When they realized, Boris wasn’t running they stopped and looked back. They were stunned at the scene they were watching. The Bear was standing right beside Boris, and Boris was patting the Bear. Boris then looked at them…

Boris: “Sorry he scared you. His name is Toby”


	5. Joy and Sorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find the reason why Roy never responded to Riza after their last meeting, and why his goals gets more aligned for his country rather than his personal life. Also, we get to find out the identity of Oliver's mother, but before Oliver could find about his mother, a tragic incident occurs.

Four days had passed since Roy came from his assignment at Riza’s hometown. And, like every other soldier, duty called him. Colonel Ludwig (Appearance: bald, heavy moustache and beard, white complexion, small black eyes, well-proportioned physique, same height as Roy, in his late thirties, Amestris military uniform) was travelling with Roy and one other soldier (driver) through the edge of Central City.

Ludwig: “It seems your assignment was a long one. Did it go well?”

Roy: “Yes Sir, but, how can that man be so dangerous? I mean he was blind after all”

Ludwig: “Did he ever try to approach you?”

Roy: “No”

Ludwig: “I didn’t give you one information about him when I sent you on the assignment…I thought it would be better for you and us”

Roy: “What information?”

After a small pause.

Ludwig: “He was the one responsible for the utmost destruction in the civil war when it all began…he killed dozens of Ishvalans with his bare hands. Neither had he used any weapon, nor he was any alchemist, yet even the Fuehrer feared to fight him head on. Things became ugly when he started killing Amestrian soldiers because he had difference in opinion with them, he seriously had some anger issue. Even after killing 20 Amestrian soldiers, the Fuehrer didn’t punish him. He sent him to that bloody town to live his life. Why the Fuehrer did that is classified bu…”

Suddenly the driver pushed the brakes and the conversation between Roy and Ludwig was interrupted.

Ludwig: “What happened?”

Soldier: “Sir, Ishvalans”

When Ludwig and Roy saw in front of them, they saw two Ishvalans. The men saw them and rushed inside a building. Before following them Ludwig gave an order to his subordinates.

Ludwig: “Go and contact the headquarters, tell them we need reinforcement. And Mustang, you come with me”

Both of the soldiers replied with “YES SIR”.

Ludwig and Roy got near the building. Ludwig hand signaled Roy to cover him while they enter the building. When they entered inside the building, two Ishvalans started shooting at them. Ludwig and Roy took cover behind the pillars present near them. Roy wasn’t perfect at flame alchemy at that time so, pinpointing and controlling temperature of the fire was a difficult task for him. He decided to ignite the floor beneath the Ishvalans which was covered with animal fat. He snapped his finger and an explosion burnt the two Ishvalans. After killing them, Ludwig and Roy decided to move forward. There was a closed room in front of them, when they tried to open the door, suddenly someone from inside the room started firing bullet toward them.

Watching the condition, Ludwig ordered Roy to burn whoever was inside on his signal, as Ludwig’s gun was out of bullet and Roy didn’t bring his gun. When the firing stopped, Ludwig heard, the reloading of Gun. Using this opportunity, he kicked the door and shouted “BURN IT”. Roy was ready, standing in front of the door to snap and burn whoever was shooting them. When the door opened, he saw a scared women reloading her gun looking directly at him with fear. Roy was unable to snap when he looked at the eyes of that panicked Ishvalan woman. The woman finished reloading in few seconds. Ludwig was standing in front of Roy and that woman was about to shoot both of them. Roy was unable to think at that moment and did what he had to, in order to survive. He snapped but, the fire he created was unstable and burnt the whole room. The room burnt within a few seconds. The scream of that women was echoing throughout the building and the scream of another person was also coming from that room. After some time, the fire stopped and by then the military was also there. Roy was still thinking who else was inside that room. He was waiting outside the building to see the dead bodies. All the dead bodies were brought out one by one. Each one was burnt to death; the first two were of the men he burnt, the third was of the women who was shooting at them. When the fourth dead body was brought out, he saw a burnt body of a woman. The woman died in a curled position, it seemed like she was scared. Roy asked one of the soldiers,

Roy: “Where did you find this body?”

Soldier: “She was at the corner of the room that you burnt. It looked like she was sitting at the corner out of fear”

Roy couldn’t believe the horror he committed there, and he was speechless and horrified. Ludwig placed his hands on his shoulders.

Ludwig: “Don’t blame yourself for their death. You acted according to my orders”

Roy was unable to speak at that moment.

Ludwig: “You should take a day off today”

That night, Roy spent too much time at Madam Christmas’ bar. The bar was about to close and no one was at the bar except Roy. Suddenly, someone entered through the door

Maes: “Hey Roy…I was looking for you everywhere, I thought you will be at home right now”

Roy: “Go away Maes, I don’t want to talk to you” (stressed drunk tone)

Maes asked Madam Christmas with gesture about Roy, and Chris replied by shaking her head to say she didn’t know. Maes got near Roy and sat at the chair near him.

Maes: “Did someone rejected you? I told you to wear some nice clothes, comb your hair and get a flower bouquet before talking to a women…I think I will get a girl before you. Do you know what happened today? (Excited tone) I was buying some groceries at the city and I saw a beautiful women. What an angel she was…I was buying tomatoes and she was buying apples right beside me, and suddenly an apple fell from her hand. She and I bent down to pick up the apple at the same time and, our hand touched…Then she looked at me and…”

Roy: “Stop it Maes” (irritated tone)

After saying that he was about to take another glass of Rum he had on the table but, Maes stopped him by holding his hand.

Roy: “Leave my hands, Maes” (angry tone)

Maes: “Tell me what happened”

Roy: “I think you can find out yourself…you are a good detective after all” (mocking tone)

Maes got angry and snatched the glass from Roy’s hand.

Roy: “Give me that back” (angry tone)

Maes: “Not unless you tell me what happened”

Roy paused for a moment, his eyes were full of agony.

Roy: “I killed four people today” (stressed tone)

Maes understood which incident he was talking about. He knew about the incident but, he didn’t know the details.

Maes: “You did what you were ordered to do…Let’s go home, take leave for some days, and I will talk to Colonel Ludwig. I am sure he will understand.”

Roy: “I was never meant to use alchemy for killing people, yet I did. I could have used a gun to disable that woman…WHY DID I USE ALCHEMY?” (He fisted the table angrily)

Maes: “Stop crying like a bitch…What’s done is done. What did you think when you joined the military? Did you think you can stay away from incidents like today? I am not saying you to forget what happened today, I am just saying accept it and continue living…You once told me you want to make this country a better place and, I am sure you can’t do that if you keep on acting like this…Come on let’s go home, I will drop you there”

Maes stood up and lent his hand to Roy. Roy didn’t take his help and stood up. Upon watching that, Maes smiled.

 

**[Present Day]**

Roy was getting ready for office and Oliver was getting ready for school.

Roy: “It’s your third day to school, you should have been little comfortable by now son” 

Oliver: “I am trying”

Roy: “it’s okay, just make some friends”

Oliver: “Dad…why can’t I do schooling at home? You can teach me alchemy”

Roy: “School is necessary Oliver, I can’t teach you everything after all “

Oliver: “But, they don’t teach alchemy at school”

Roy: “We can manage that. I will teach you alchemy every Sunday, if you promise me that you will go to school every day. And remember…”

Oliver: “Yes I know, I will never let Ms. Hawkeye know that I know alchemy.”

Roy: “Now let’s go”

There was a car waiting outside their house, they got inside the car. Roy sat on the front and Oliver at the back, after getting inside the car Roy heard the driver speak.

Riza: “You are late General” (stoic tone)

Roy: “I was helping Oliver for getting ready”

She looked back.

Riza: “Behave well at school, okay? Always remember your father is Major General Roy Mustang, a respected person of Amestris, by embarrassing yourself you will embarrass your father”

Oliver: “yes ma’am”

Roy: “What did I tell you son about her strictness? You didn’t believe me, hmm?” (He said while looking forward)

Riza started the car, driving straight to Military School (A school for the children of military personnel), they dropped Oliver there. The school was highly guarded, like a fortress, even some soldiers were also deployed there for the safety of the children. This type of security was provided to the school after the breakout of Ishvalan civil war, and from there after the security remained the same.

Riza and Roy were driving for office…

Roy: “So, what’s there for today?”

Riza: “You have a meeting with some Ishvalan representative regarding IFF (Ishvalan Freedom Front). Some Ishvalan are still protesting in front of the Headquarter. Guards are trying to stop them but, you know about the radicals, they are creating chaos”

Roy: “Initially I thought we have achieved peace with Ishval but, I was wrong all along…Any status on Scar?”

Riza: “He is trying to settle the things in Ishval but, IFF is still provoking the general public against us”

Roy: “hmm…how many of our soldiers have we lost?”

Riza: “11 to be exact”

Roy: “This is turning into a big problem, let’s discuss further at the meeting”

After sometime they reached the headquarters and got into the office. They prepared for the meeting which was going to be held after an hour.

 

**[At the military school]**

 Oliver was sitting at his chair, waiting for the maths class to over. After some time, the bell rang and maths class was over, the maths teacher (Appearance: Brown messy hair with low hair density, fair complexion, clean shaved, wearing square glasses, skinny, height around 5.8 feet, wearing a formal half shirt and a formal pant)  took his books from the table, used the duster to erase everything on the board. He looked at Oliver and called him.

Richard: “Oliver Mustang”

Upon hearing his name, Oliver got surprised and stood up.

Oliver: “Yes Sir!”

Richard: “Can you please come with me?”

Oliver followed Richard to his room. Richard was an old employee of that school, he was an Amestrian born man, middle aged, brown haired and skinny. His room was filled with books; a desk was there with three chairs.

He asked Oliver to sit on a chair and he sat near him.

Richard: “I suppose, we are meeting for the first time?”

Oliver: “yes sir”

Richard: “So, you are the son of General Roy Mustang, the famous flame alchemist?”

Oliver: “Yes sir”

Richard: “How do you like my teaching?”

Oliver: “It is good sir”

Richard: “Really? Well most of the kids hate me, cz I am strict”

Oliver: “I…”

Richard: “forget it”

He paused for a moment and looked at him, Oliver was nervous due to the silence and suddenly Richard spoke.

Richard: “Well…you do have the eyes of your mother”

Oliver was stunned for a moment upon hearing that.

Oliver: “You know my mother?”

Richard: “Yes, she is a good friend of mine…You haven’t met your mother yet, have you?”

Oliver: “No... My father never told me anything about her”

Richard: “The truth is… your father and mother had a quarrel long time ago. So, your father never lets your mother to meet you. You know, she is very sad about that”

Oliver: “Do you know where my mother is?” (He asked enthusiastically)

Richard: “Of course, after all your mother and I are good friends” (He replied with a grin)

Oliver: “Can you please take me to her?”

Richard: “Why not? She will be very happy to see you”

Oliver was smiling, he was very happy that he was finally going to meet his mother.

Oliver: “When can we go?”

Richard: “During recess, meet me at the back gate of the school. Okay?”

Oliver: “Okay”

Richard: “Now go, you have a class to attend and don’t tell anyone about this, because if your father finds out that you are meeting your mother, he will beat her like always and take you away”

Oliver was surprised to hear that his father hit his mother.

Oliver: “I won’t tell anyone”

Oliver smiled and left the room to attend the class.

After some classes, recess time came, for which Oliver was eagerly waiting. He got out of the classroom as soon as the teacher left the class and went to the back gate. When he reached the gate, there was no one nearby; only two guards were standing there. One of the guards saw Oliver and approached him.

Guard 1: “Hey there…are you looking for someone?”

Oliver remembered that he was not supposed to tell anyone about his meeting with his mother. He got afraid when the guard asked him the question.

Oliver: “No one”

Guard 1: “You must be little mustang. Don’t worry… Mr. Richard told me about you. He is waiting over there in that car” (He pointed toward a car waiting outside the gate)

Oliver: “Thank you” (He said in a relaxed tone)

Oliver got out of the gate and entered the car, but there was someone else inside the car, his name was Rolan (Appearance: Black hair combed backward, Ishvalan, wearing a black suit with no tie, muscular physique, height about 6.5 feet)

Rolan: “Hello Oliver, I am going to take you to your mother”

Oliver was afraid.

Oliver: “But, the guard told me, Mr. Richard was waiting, who are you?”

Rolan: “Richard had some urgent work so, he left. You can call me Rolan and I will be taking you to your mother. I think you should not make your mother wait”

The driver started the car and left that place. Soon they reached a warehouse at an unknown place in central city. Oliver got out of the car and searched for his mother.

Oliver: “MOM…MOM…MOM”

He shouted out but, no one came. Rolan got out of the car

Rolan: “Oliver…your mother is not here. Sorry we lied to you that we know your mother”

Oliver lost all his hopes to meet his mother, his eyes started watering.

Oliver: “But, wh…why would you lie to me about m..my mother?” (He was sobbing)

Rolan: “We had to…Now you have to stay with us for a while”

Rolan picked up Oliver by force and took the stairs to the basement of that warehouse. There were other Ishvalan rebels in that basement too. Oliver was terrified by everything he was watching; there were people with guns, blood on the ground, people with scars; it was too much for a nine year old.

 

**[Flashback]**

There was a knock on the door; Riza opened the door and found that it was Ms. Matilda Becker.

Matilda: “I have brought some strawberries and kiwis as you wished. By the way, you don’t like Kiwis much, now why all of a sudden did you demanded for them”

Riza: “I don’t know. I just saw an image of Kiwi in a book, and I felt like I should eat one”

Matilda looked at Riza who was a bit worried…

Matilda: “You miss him already, don’t you?”

Riza: “Yes I do” (exhausted tone)

Matilda: “Are you feeling alright dear?”

 Riza: “I am feeling a bit sick from few days, but it’s ok”

Matilda: “WHAT? YOU’RE SICK AND YOU ARE TELLING ME NOW?”

Riza: “Ms. Becker you are worried for nothing, I am just fi…..”

Riza fainted and fell on the ground without completing her sentence. Matilda got terrified upon watching that, she quickly ran to Riza with a glass of water and sprinkled some water on her face trying to wake her up. After 5 minutes, she gained consciousness and found her head resting on Matilda’s lap. Matilda got happy upon seeing Riza conscious.

Matilda: “Oh baby…I am feeling very bad…I am definitely a terrible caretaker” (worried tone)

Riza: “It’s okay Ms. Becker”

Riza got up and Matilda helped her sit on the sofa.

Matilda: “OKAY? YOU CALL THIS OKAY?”

Matilda: “We are going to the doctor”

Riza: “I already met the doctor yesterday”

Matilda: “WHAT! You already been to the doctor, and I don’t know about it?”

Riza: “Sorry, I should have informed you” (guilty tone)

Matilda: “It’s okay” (She smiled mildly)

She touched her cheek with her palm to convince her that she was not mad at her.

Matilda: “So, what did the doctor say?”

Riza: “He said that…” (She couldn’t proceed more with her sentence, her head was down)

Matilda: “HE SAID WHAT? Now you are making me worr…”

Riza: “He said that I am pregnant” (she was blushing)

Matilda was shocked, her eyes were widened. Slowly she calmed down.

Matilda: “It seems that you are happy…are you going to tell him?”

Riza: “Not now…I want to give him a surprise when he will return”

Matilda: “Do you think he will accept this child?”

Riza: “We know each other from quite a long time Ms. Becker and I can tell when he lies…this time he was quite serious about marrying me…I know him…he will not ever lie to me”

Matilda: “But you know he is military…what if something happens to him…you know the conditions in Ishval…lots of military people have lost their lives and few of them were even Roy’s age”

Riza: “Ms. Becker can you please stop filling my mind with those thoughts?”

Matilda: “Fine…but child…you are quite young to be a mother…you are barely eighteen…I pray you don’t suffer any more…it’s enough for you to lose your parents”

Riza: “Thank you for your concern Ms. Becker”

Matilda: “And tell that idiot of yours…if after getting married, he treats you any bad, Ms. Becker will come and ruin his pretty face”

Both of them laughed on Matilda’s funny statement.

Time passed on, Riza was now 4 months into her pregnancy. Matilda was taking care of her and her unborn child. There was no letter or anything from Roy after he left, even then Riza was still hopeful. Finally, Riza decided to contact Roy and called Central Headquarters using the contact card he gave her. A lady picked up the phone,

Lady: “Hello, Central Headquarter. How may I help you?”

Riza: “Can I please talk to Major Roy Mustang, The flame alchemist?”

Lady: “May I know your name?”

Riza: “It’s Riza Hawkeye”

Lady: “Hold on, I am calling Major Mustang’s office and let him know”

Riza: “Sure”

She was very happy that finally she was going to talk to Roy. After a minute, Riza heard the lady’s voice

Lady: “Sorry Miss Riza, but he can’t talk to you now. He is busy with some urgent work”

Riza got sad and hanged up the receiver. She kept on calling Roy for 3-4 days and she always received the same answer. On the 5th day she called the headquarters again. Again the lady picked up,

Lady: “Hello, Central Headquarters. How may I help you?”

Riza: “May I talk to Major Mustang? It’s Riza Hawkeye.”

Lady: “Miss Riza, Major Mustang told me to inform you that he can’t talk with you and asked you to stop calling him” (Annoyed tone)

Riza hanged up the receiver and sat on the sofa. Matilda heard her crying, so she ran to see what happened.

Matilda: “What happened honey?” (Caring tone)

Riza: “How can he do that? He promised me, he will come and take me with him” (She was sobbing)

Matilda understood what happened as she was watching her calling Roy every day and receiving no response from his side, which made her sad. Matilda hugged her…

Matilda: “Don’t worry child…I am here for you…just forget that bastard”

Riza: “Why? Why?” (She was sobbing)

Riza kept on repeating that word and with every time she said that word, her voice was fading. Finally she calmed down and fell asleep uttering the same word again and again.

 

 

**[Present day Central headquarters]**

The meeting regarding the current IFF (Ishvalan Freedom Front) issue was over, Roy and his team were sitting in their office doing some paper work as usual. Roy came out of his room with some papers.

Roy: “Major, take these papers to the Fuehrer?”

Riza: “Yes Sir”

She took the papers and left for Fuehrer Grumman’s office. Roy sat on the sofa watching his team work. Sometime later a soldier ran inside Roy’s office.

Soldier: “Major General Mustang” (He was panting)

Everybody got distracted upon watching that soldier.

Roy: “What’s the matter soldier?”

The soldier calmed down before speaking.

Soldier: “Sir, we have found a dead body in an alley which is badly burnt”

Roy: “Why are you telling me this? I have some urgent work right now. Take Captain Falman with you if you need some assistance”

Soldier: “Sir, the dead body is of a boy who looks like your son”

Everybody got shocked when they heard that, Roy’s heart started beating very fast at that moment. Without wasting any time he stood up and walked toward him.

Roy: “Let’s go”

All his team members followed him and the soldier. They drove to that alley, when they reached there, Roy got out of that car and ran toward the crime scene. There was a dead body lying there covered with a white cloth. Roy’s heart beat was rising as he was closing in to that body. When he reached near the body, he didn’t have the courage to remove the cloth but, he was also anxious about what was under that cloth, he was hoping that it was not his son like the soldier told him. He gathered courage and removed the cloth. When he looked, his eyes were widened, he felt like his heart suddenly stopped beating. The body was indeed of his son, his body was partially burnt, one could clearly see his face which was burnt very less, his eyes and mouth were open, there was a stab wound in his chest. Roy was in shock, he couldn’t speak or act, he was on his knees in front of his son’s dead body.

 

**[Flashback]**

Riza was now nearly 9 months pregnant and was admitted in the maternity ward, because her water broke very early in the morning, so Matilda somehow managed to take her to the hospital so early in the morning. After some hours, she gave birth. The doctor was holding the baby; he took the baby near Riza.

Doctor: “It looks like your son wants to meet you” (He said with a smile)

Doctor put the crying baby gently near Riza, who calmed down upon feeling the warmth of his mother. He was looking more like his father than his mother. Riza was looking at him like the most beautiful thing she ever saw in her life. Sometime later Matilda entered the room and saw Riza looking at her baby with pure love in her eyes while the baby was sleeping.

Matilda: “Awwww…..what a cutie”

Riza looked at her.

Riza: “Ms. Becker”

Matilda: “Riza, my baby…how are you feeling?” (Loving tone)

Riza: “Little exhausted...”

Matilda: “A healthy child…my hard work paid off after all”

Riza: “Thank you Ms. Becker, for everything you did for me…and for him”

Matilda: “So…have you thought of a name yet?”

Riza: “Oliver”

She replied in an instant, as if she had already decided that name a long time ago. Matilda understood why she named her son, “Oliver”…

Matilda: “That’s a good name” (She smiled)

Riza: “He is so beautiful…the most beautiful thing I ever saw in my life” (tears were falling from her eyes while she said this)

Matilda: “Why are you crying dear? Now you are a mother…how can you make him into a tough man, if you will cry like this?”

 Riza: “He is reminding me of Roy”

Matilda: “Roy? Who is Roy? Never heard of that name…maybe you should call your son’s poop Roy”

Laughter left Riza’s mouth, soon Matilda joined her and the room was echoing with laughter. Due to the 

noise, a nurse entered the room…

Nurse: “Can you please keep your voice low?”

Riza: “Sorry nurse” (she smiled)

Riza was very happy that day, becoming a mother was something new to her, and she was embracing the new responsibility with a smile.

**[Present day]**

After some time Riza reached the crime scene, the entry of the alley was covered with Mustang’s team. Mustang’s team had ordered other military personnel to leave the crime scene, because they didn’t want to show such a broken image of their leader to others. Havoc was standing at the entry smoking his cigarette; he saw Riza when she arrived there.

Havoc: “Hey Hawkeye, thank god you are here”

Riza: “When I found out all of you came here, I came as fast as possible. What happened? Why all of you left the office all of a sudden?”

Havoc: “I think only you can help Chief at a moment like this”

Riza: “What happened?”

Havoc: “He is sitting in front of the dead body for thirty minutes now. He is not speaking, not doing anything, just staring at the dead boy. We don’t want to go near him at a moment like this... Man… no child should suffer that fate” (He took a sip from his cigarette and let the smoke out of his mouth)

Riza gulped, her heart was beating fast. The only word which was echoing inside her brain was “boy” out of everything what Havoc said.

Riza: “Wh…who’s body is that?” (Hesitant tone)

Havoc: “Oliver’s” (Stressed tone)

Riza couldn’t speak, she felt numb upon hearing Havoc; she had the same feeling as Roy at that moment. She walked toward the body slowly, Oliver’s body was already uncovered and Roy was sitting beside it like a statue. When she reached near Oliver’s dead body, she lost all her strength and fell on her knees. Her eyes started watering and tears started dropping from her eyes, she held Oliver’s half burnt body and hugged him tightly, she was crying over him. She was hoping her son will wake from the dead, but it was no fairy tale.  Everybody was watching Riza, her team had never seen her so helpless before. Roy heard her cries and looked at her, but he knew he couldn’t help her at that time. He stood up and walked outside the alley, leaving her alone with her dead son, screaming and shedding her tears over her dead child. Roy’s team watched Roy coming out of the alley.

Havoc: “Hey Chief…Are you okay?”

Roy: “My son is dead… Look at her, how broken is she, because I am the reason our son is dead…what do you think Jean? Am I okay? When I met Oliver, I thought life has given us a chance but, it was just playing with us”

Some time passed, Riza was still holding her dead son but, she had no more tears left to shed on his dead body. Fuehrer Grumman was there, looking at his granddaughter in that painful situation. He approached to Roy who was sitting alone on a bench mourning his son’s death.

Grumman: “Roy” (He said after placing his hand on his shoulder)

Roy saw him and stood up to salute him, he was exhausted.

Roy: “Good evening Fuehrer… sorry to disappoint you but, I don’t think your granddaughter will marry me even after I become the Fuehrer” (He said with a sad smile)

Grumman: “We can’t change what has happened son… you should go to Riza because she needs you the most in this moment, only you can relate to her pain”

Roy: “How can you say that I can relate to her pain Fuehrer…She carried him in her belly when she was barely 18…I wasn’t even there when she gave birth and nor do you Fuehrer…She fed her own milk to Oliver even though she was weak… even after that, she didn’t even get the pleasure to be called mother…Do you really think I or you can relate to her pain? At least ‘you’ could have done something to make her life a bit easy” (He let all his anger out at that moment)

Roy stood up and walked inside the alley with Falman and Breda. When he reached near Riza, he placed his hand over her shoulder. Fragments of burnt skin were stuck to Riza’s face, hands and uniform.

Roy: “You should let him go Major” (persuasive tone)

Roy tried many times, but Riza didn’t listen to him so, Roy tried to separate Riza’s hands from Oliver using force. Riza was so weakened that she couldn’t hold on to Oliver’s body even though she tried hard, she tried to shout but, she was too much exhausted to do so. When Roy took Riza’s hands away from Oliver’s body, Breda and Falman took the body inside a van and went to the hospital along with the driver. When Roy left his grip from Riza, she sat on the ground in that alley staring at the ground, shedding the tears whatever was left in her eyes. Most of the military people were gone, only Roy’s team except Breda and Falman, Grumman and his two bodyguards were there. There was silence in that alley but, only for a few moments.

Riza: “Every time I saw him, I only desired that, one time…just one time, Oli call me mother. But, I gave up that desire because of you and because I wanted him to be safe, I wanted him to live on happily even if something had happened to us… It brought me enough happiness when once in a while I saw his face”

Riza was still staring the ground, but everyone knew she was talking to Roy.

Roy: “I…”

Riza: “Roy, I thought when you will become the Fuehrer, we can make this world a better place and our son would be a part of that… but, it doesn’t matter now”

Roy: “I know you will never forgive me, but it’s difficult to watch you like that… be my strength…like you always do…please” (desperate tone)

He lent a hand toward Riza to help her stand up. She didn’t bother to wipe her tears and took his hand to stand. The fragments of skin from her son’s dead body were still stuck on her uniform. Both of them went near Fuehrer’s car…

Roy: “Fuehrer, do we have the permission to leave?” (Weak tone)

Grumman was in his car. He didn’t look at them, just because he wanted to hide his emotions behind the big glasses he was wearing.

Grumman: “You can leave General. Make sure Major Hawkeye is okay, and take care of yourself”

Roy and Riza saluted Grumman and got inside their car. One could clearly see the dark circles on Riza’s eye and the forceful salute they both did.

After some time, they reached Riza’s apartment.

Roy: “We are at your home, Major”

Riza’s mind was still occupied; she couldn’t hear Roy at first. So, Roy put his hand on her shoulder.

Roy: “Major”

Riza looked at Roy with surprise.

Riza: “Yes!”

Roy: “We are at your home”

Riza: “Thank you General”

After telling him that, she got out of the car and moved toward the apartment’s main door only to find out that Roy was following her.

Riza: “You don’t need to come Sir, I will be alright”

He looked into her eyes.

Roy: “But, I won’t be…I am not strong like you, Major”

After reaching her home, she opened the door and both entered inside.  On watching his master, Hayate ran round and round around Riza’s legs. She ignored him and entered her bedroom and sat on the bed’s edge. Roy followed her to bedroom and sat beside her. Hayate didn’t bother his master or Roy, and sat at his regular position at the dining hall.

Roy: “It’s hard to be a tough man all the time”

Riza: “It’s alright to cry sometime”

Roy slept on the bed placing his head on Riza’s lap. He let his long held tears out, dropping on Riza’s lap.

Roy: “Looks like I am failing to protect the people I love”

That night was gloomy for both of them.

 


	6. Legends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Drachma, we see Maria, Danny and Boris (their guide) leave for Othon (the capital of Drachma), but they face difficulty to get into the train. Still when they board the train, they get to know that the train has some mystery, and they get off the train in order to save themselves. After getting off the train, they take shelter in a broken house where Boris tells Maria and Danny about his first meeting with Olivier Armstrong when she was sent as a spy to Drachma many years ago, and how did they encountered some monsters in forest. We also get to see Scar enjoying his life in Ishval which is being re constructed by the military. Scar tells the story of the old Ishval to the children and how it was destroyed many years ago. Meanwhile in the west area of Amestris, we get to meet a lady state alchemist who was not forced to fight in Ishvalan war, and her relationship with a very weird man who can hypnotize others to see whatever he sees fit. Beside all these, Elric brothers gets the news about Oliver's identity

**[Some abandoned war camp in Drachma]**

The Amestrian group finally met Boris, but they never expected a pet bear along with him or the fact that Boris always looked so serious. After meeting Boris, all of them rested for some time at the safe point, then Ronny and Steve were ready to head back to Briggs. Boris was sitting at the back with his pet bear while, the Amestrian soldiers were having their goodbye conversation…

Steve: “I think, we should leave now. Boris will take you to Othon from here”

Maria: “Thank you for leading us this far Lieutenant”

Steve: “hmm (He nodded)…Good luck with your mission”

Maria: “Thank you”

Danny: “So, you guys are again going through that cave?”

Steve: “Unfortunately, yes. If we go through any other way, there is a very high chance that we will get caught or shot”

Steve and Ronny picked up their bag, they turned around to head back to smuggler’s path. Before they left…

Ronny: “Hey, don’t die out there, we still have some unfinished business”

He winked at both of them and smiled, they understood what he was referring to. Danny and Maria said good bye to them. When Steve and Ronny were gone, Boris spoke

Boris: “Shall we leave too?”

Maria and Danny looked at him…

Maria: “Let’s go”

They were walking through the snowy wilderness, but the path was not fully covered with heavy snow like they faced near the mountains. Danny and Maria were uncomfortable that a big bear was walking with them…

Danny: “So…is Toby also going to come with us to Othon?”

Boris: “Do you have any problem with that?”

Danny: “No, no, why would I have a problem with that?” (Hesitant tone)

Danny: {God, this guy reminds me of General Armstrong, why he can’t smile once in a while?}

Maria: “So, how far is Othon from here?”

Boris: “1050 miles”

Maria: “How are you planning to take us there?”

Boris: “We will go by train”

Danny: “So, Toby will also be travelling by train then?” (Hesitant tone)

Boris: “Of course he will board the train, how else can he come with me?”

Danny and Maria didn’t know what to say.

Danny: {Man this guy is crazy. I am definitely going to die here}

After walking for quite a distance through the wilderness, they reached the nearest railway station. The station was almost vacant, it was mainly used for transportation of goods, and so only few Drachmann soldiers were present there. There was a train at the station, it was being guarded heavily, and some goods were being loaded on the train. Boris had a plan, he needed Maria and Danny to make the plan work, so he shared the plan with them.

Boris, Maria and Danny were pulling Toby on a sledge, while Toby was lying on the sledge as if he was dosed. When they reached the station’s front gate, the soldiers present their noticed them and asked them to stop. Boris went forward to talk with the soldier…

Boris: “Good evening Sir” (He smiled looking at the two soldiers in front of him)

Soldier1: “Who are you?”

Boris: “I am a hunter sir, and they are my friends” (Showing Maria and Danny to the soldiers)

Boris: “As you can see, we have hunted a big bear”

Soldier2: “So?” (Looking angrily)

Boris: “That is no normal bear, Sir. That is a young male brown bear, and it’s alive. Rich people will pay lots of money to have him”

Soldier2: “We don’t care. Just go somewhere else with your bear”

Suddenly, someone interrupted them.

Lieutenant: “What happened soldier?”

It was a fat Drachmann soldier, but of higher rank. When the soldier saw him, they stood in attention pose and saluted him.

Soldier1: “Nothing much Sir, this man was getting into the station”

The Lieutenant looked at Boris. Without wasting any time, Boris quickly said…

Boris: “Good evening Sir. I am a hunter and those are my friends, we have caught a wild male brown bear. As you know Sir, how much demand is there for this particular animal, so we were hoping if you can allow us to take the train to Othon, we will be grateful to you” (persuading tone with a fake smile on his face)

Lieutenant walked close to see the bear. Danny and Maria had their hood on. He was watching the bear when he noticed the bear was breathing, upon watching that he moved some step out of fear and pulled out his gun and pointed his gun on the bear. Watching the Lieutenant’s reaction, the other soldiers pointed their rifle at the bear. Before they could fire, Boris stopped them…

Boris: “Wait, wait. We have dosed him pretty heavily, he won’t wake up for a whole day. And, I also mentioned to your soldier that he was alive”

Lieutenant: “So what?”

Boris: “Calm down Sir, alive bears are three times costlier than dead ones” (persuading tone)

Boris: “And, if you can let us board the train, then I can give you something that will make you happy” He said in a low tone such that only the Lieutenant can hear it. The Lieutenant calmed down and put his gun in the cover. He then bribed the Lieutenant with two gold coins, and got permission to board the train. There was a vacant wagon, where they entered. After sometime, the train left and all of them departed for Othon, and that also with the help of Drachmann military. When they felt that there is no danger of the military, Toby sat up.

Boris: “Thank you Toby, you are very good as always”

He patted Toby on his back, and Toby licked him out of happiness. Maria and Danny were staring the bear and human duo, it was very unusual.

Maria: “Do you really think it will be okay if you wander around the capital city with such a big animal?”

Boris: “No”

Danny: “Then why are you taking him?”

Boris: “Don’t you think your job will be easier if everybody will pay attention to me and Toby?”

Maria and Danny got amazed about his thought.

Danny: “You really are a strange man” (He smiled)

It was going to take time for them to reach Othon in that cold weather, even though they were travelling in a steam train.

 

**[Ishval]**

Ishvalan war ended in 1906, destroying lots of homes and families. Even after end of the war, the Ishvalans were hunted because they were perceived as threat to the Amestrian government, and because of the Ishvalans rebels who were killing the Amestrian soldiers. But, after the promised day, everything was settled. The new Fuehrer , Fuehrer Grumman asked for forgiveness on behalf of the whole Amestrian army, he asked the representatives of Ishvalans to forget what happened in the past, and assured them to rebuild their home. In the memory of people who lost their lives during the war, both Ishvalan and Amestrian, a memorial was created in the central park of Central city, and the names of all the people who died in the war were carved on that memorial. In Ishval, many of the buildings were repaired which were destroyed during the war. Ishvalans returned to their home after a long time, there were some people who fought the war, there were some who ran away to survive because they were far too young or old to fight, and there were some who weren’t even born even after the end of war.  

Scar was in charge of rebuilding Ishval and connecting the Ishvalans with the current Amestris government’s vision. He was exploring the city in his traditional Ishvalan clothes, for the first time in years he was really looking happy, because he was home at long last. While he was walking through the city, a 6-7 year old Ishvalan girl, wearing a frock, ran toward him, she couldn’t see Scar in front of her and collided with him and fell on the ground. Scar looked at her and bent down to help her stand. The little girl looked at Scar and recognized him…

Girl: “It’s you, the Ishvalan hero”

Scar had become quite popular after the promised day, he was represented as the Ishvalan who fought against the bad government to get justice for his people.

Girl: “Sir”

Scar: “Yes?”

Girl: “Can you please come with me?”

She held Scar’s hand and started pulling him, but she was very small and Scar couldn’t walk like an old woman, so he picked her up and carried her on his shoulders.

Scar: “Why don’t you sit on my shoulder and direct me where to go, young lady?” (He smiled)

Girl: “Okay”

She directed her and Scar was taking her in those directions, people were looking at their hero and laughing, they were happy that he was mixing with his peoples. After taking some turns, he reached a roofless building, there were lots of children sitting there, and a young Ishvalan woman (Appearance: brown long hair with a small braid, well-toned physique, height around 5.5 feet, in her mid-twenties, wearing a long frock) was teaching those children. When she saw Scar, she stood up…

Sheela: “Mister Scar!”

Scar put the little girl down who was sitting on his shoulder, and as soon as he put her down, she ran to her friends who were sitting there

Scar: “This is a nice thing you are doing”

Sheela: “Oh, it’s nothing. I am just doing my part like everyone else here” (Nervous tone)

Scar: “What’s your name?”

Sheela: “My name is Sheela” (Nervous tone)

Scar: “So, what were you teaching them?”

Sheela: “I was about to tell them the story about the old Ishval”

Suddenly an idea struck Sheela’s mind.

Sheela: “Why don’t you tell them the story yourself Mr. Scar? They will be very happy listening to the story from their hero”

Upon listening to the conversation between Sheela and Scar, the little girl who came with Scar pulled his pants gently to get attention. When Scar looked at her…

Girl: “Yes Mr. Scar, please tell us the story” (persuasive tone)

After that, all the children started requesting Scar to tell them the story, and finally Scar had to agree.

Scar: “Fine, I will tell you the story”

All the children there jumped with happiness. Scar sat on the chair where Sheela was sitting and began telling the story…

Scar: “Ishval city in which we are right now is not the actual Ishval city. The real city where Ishval used to be, is close to this place. The city was very prosperous both culturally and economically. Traders from various countries used to come there for trade, many traders called it the golden bird. But, there were not only rich people in the city, there were also the poor who were living among them. Even though there was difference in the lifestyle of the people, there was one thing common. They all worshipped God Ishvala, the sole true god and lord of all creation, they even built a big temple for worshipping Ishvala. Everything was going very well until one day an Ishvalan man came to the city after a long time from his travel. People say that he went with Asura (the mighty evil being in Ishvalan folk lore) to his world, and learnt alchemy from him. When he started showing other Ishvalans what he can do using alchemy, other people got interested to learn it. But, even though everyone wanted to learn alchemy, it was not an easy task, still the number of alchemist kept on rising even though the number was very small. They kept on using alchemy to fix broken houses during any natural disaster or fixing objects which got broken due to an accident, basically they were going against nature. Alchemy was good until fixing things, but one day a man healed a dying old woman using alchemy, he did something what he was not supposed to do. Because of that, one day God Ishvala appeared and took the form of a monster to punish all the Ishvalans who thought alchemy was a good thing, Ishvala destroyed the temple and ordered the remaining Ishvalans to go from there and never return. From that day onward, alchemy was considered a taboo and no one practiced it, and Ishval was built again at the location we are right now”

After listening to the story, a child asked…

Child: “If the old Ishval is somewhere near, then can we go to see it?”

Before Scar could reply, someone interrupted. It was Scar’s Master (Appearance: bald, white moustache, well-toned physique, height little less than Scar, wearing the traditional Ishvalan clothes), he was now the chief of Ishval and represented Ishval on any political meeting.

Master: “Of course, we can go there. Let’s go there tomorrow, Mr. Scar himself will show you all what remains of the city”

All the children jumped with happiness. Upon watching his master, Scar went toward him to have a talk. Both Scar and his Master left the children with Sheela. While walking…

Master: “It’s good to see you getting along with people”

Scar: “Did you want to meet me?”

Master: “Yes… you must be knowing about the Ishvalan Freedom Front (IFF)”

Scar: “Yes…I was once like them, taking revenge from the army that destroyed my home, killed my people…I can’t believe that now I am helping the same army to rebuild my home”

Master: “I am happy that you finally chose the right path”

Scar: “So, what exactly can I contribute regarding the IFF issue?”

Master: “Have you heard about a man named Thomas Maxwell?”

Scar: “No”

Master: “According to the military sources, he is the current leader of IFF. Till now, IFF has killed almost 20 Amestrian soldiers in cold blood, they are even influencing other Ishvalans to join them … we were once a peaceful community, but now we are turning into terrorists. We can’t afford another war son, we have already lost too much, if we lose anymore, then I am afraid we can’t heal”

Scar: “Is there anything I can do?”

At the time, they had reached Master’s house. There was no door on the entrance, it was covered with a red curtain. First, the master entered inside then Scar followed him inside the house. When Scar entered, he saw a skinny Amestrian man sitting on a chair, it was Richard (Maths teacher at Military school). When Richard saw Scar, he stood up…

Master: “This is Richard Clarke… he works for Thomas Maxwell”

Scar: “What is he doing here?”

Master: “He wanted to talk to you”

Scar: “Master, a few moments ago I thought you didn’t like radicals”

Master: “Who am I to say who is good and who is bad? I am just a teacher, I can only show you the right path, it’s up to you whether you want to walk on that path or not”

Scar understood why his master was talking about Thomas Maxwell before let him talk to Richard. He looked at Richard…

Scar: “Why do you want to talk with me?”

Richard: “As you know, we fight for Ishval’s freedom, the freedom which is the right of every Ishvalan”

Scar: “But, from when an Amestrian is fighting for the freedom of Ishval?”

Richard: “Even though I am an Amestrian, the only family I ever had was my wife and my daughter. My wife was an Ishvalan, and my daughter was the one responsible for starting the war…or I can say the Amestrian soldier who killed her started the war. What terrible thing did a 6 year old do, due to which the soldier had to shoot her? Eventually, my wife died at the hands of those bastards…I was in Central city at that time when all this happened, I tried to come to Ishval, but all the routes to Ishval were blocked for civilians…I couldn’t even see their dead bodies… Yes, I might look like an Amestrian, but I will always remain an Ishvalan by heart. When I die, I want to get buried in this land…finally reuniting with my family” (stressed tone)

Tears from his eyes were sliding through his cheeks, falling on the ground while he was telling his reason to join IFF with a stiff face. Scar wanted to tell Richard the truth that it was a shapeshifting homunculus who killed his daughter and not a soldier, but no one was ever going to believe in something like that.

Scar: “So, whatever you are doing is just plain revenge then?”

Richard: “No, we don’t want to kill anyone. We are just trying to save this country from those animals, why should we keep any relation with Amestris? What good have they ever done for Ishval?”

Master: “The new Fuehrer is not like the previous one, he is helping to rebuild Ishval”

Richard: “But, who destroyed it in the first place?” (Raised voice)

Master and Scar had no answer for that.

Richard: “Scar…if you join our purpose, then no one can stop us from achieving freedom. People see you as a hero, if you tell them that you will get absolute freedom for them, then they will rally behind you to achieve the purpose. There will be no more war, no more suffering”

After telling that, Richard walked toward the door. Master and Scar speechlessly were looking at him leaving the house. Before leaving, he looked at Scar…

Richard: “And Scar, if you really value Ishval so much, then you should wear your real name with pride”

Richard left after saying that.

 

**[Wellesley, a small city in West region]**

A short heighted man (Appearance: very short black hair, normal eyebrow, green eyes, wearing a brown leather hat, fully bearded and moustache, fair skin, brown leather full pant with belt with a bull shaped buckle, brown leather shoes with pointed end, a formal light blue shirt with folded sleeves, well-toned physique, height nearly 4 feet, in his early 40s) was standing at the edge of a cliff getting an overall view of the city. The small mountain on which the man was standing was at the outskirt of the city and was covered with lots of green trees. While the man was enjoying the view, someone came to meet him along with some military personnel who was unconscious, and being dragged by the person. The person was a woman (Appearance: Untied shoulder length light brown hair, big green eyes, wearing the Amestrian army uniform of Major rank, a state alchemist pocket watch hanging on her waist, well-toned physique, height same as General Armstrong, around her mid-thirties), her name was Major Cecilia Ingolfson, she was among the few state alchemists who didn’t have to go to Ishval during the civil war. From the beginning of her career, she was posted in Western command, she was popularly known as the “Splinter Alchemist”. She put the military personnel on the ground and stood up…

Cecilia: “What are you going to do with him?”

The man turned around to look at Cecilia.

Man: “I need to talk with him”

Cecilia: “I am going then”

Man: “Don’t you have any responsibility toward your military friends? What if I kill him?” (He said it in a creepy way with a grin on his face)

Cecilia: “Do whatever you want. I have to go and get some food”

She left after saying that. Sometime later, the military personnel gained consciousness, he was confused to find himself in the forest. He then saw a blurred image of a big man (more than 7 feet tall) standing a few distant away from him.

Man: “Finally, you are awake Lieutenant Donovan”

Donovan: “Who are you? And how do you know me?”

Man: “My name is Iapetus, but you can call me Big John, and how do I know you doesn’t matter. The only thing which matters right now are your wife and daughter”

The man moved aside to let Donovan see his wife and daughter being held by two men with rifles. Donovan’s wife and daughter were sitting on their knees on the ground, their hands were tied behind their back, their mouth was covered with a piece of cloth so that they couldn’t speak, they were sweating and terrified, while two men were standing beside them pointing their rifles at Donovan’s wife and daughter. Donovan was terrified on finding his family at the middle of the forest…

John: “Doesn’t it feel good to see your family after so many days?” (He grinned looking at Donovan)

Donovan: “What do you want from me?” (Sobbing tone)

John: “Aren’t you leading the team which is reconstructing Ishval city?”

Donovan: “Yes”

John: “Can you tell me why the military is restoring the first Ishval city? Wasn’t it a forbidden place according to the Ishvalans?”

Donovan: “The Ishvalans people approached on their own to the Amestris military to help them restore the place. Just like they have now accepted alchemy, the legend behind the destruction of the first Ishval is just now a story to them. They particularly asked us to help them restore the temple”

John: “STORIES? HAHA…HAHA…HAHAHAHA”

Big John went near Donovan and freed him.

John: “Go, meet your family”

Donovan: “Thank you” (happy sobbing tone)

As soon as John permitted Donovan to meet his family, Donovan ran toward his family. John was watching Donovan running toward his family, and both of them had a grin on their face. Donovan’s grin was clearly out of happiness of finally meeting his family, but John’s grin was evil. When Donovan was just a few inches away from meeting his family, he realized all the things he was watching few moments ago including his family was just an illusion when he started falling from the cliff. Watching that, John started laughing loudly…

John: “Sorry Lieutenant…I told her…to stop…that I might kill you…but she didn’t…well…it was fun to… watch you die” (laughing tone)

After some moment, Big John stopped laughing and went to the edge of the cliff and looked down. He could clearly see Donovan, 30 feet down the edge of the cliff (which was far up from the floor), lying on a rock, bleeding heavily from his head and was breathing like a fish out of water taking his last breath. Donovan could also see Big John looking down at him. Now that John’s illusion was not there, Donovan could see what Big John really looked like , - a dwarf with a fancy outfit.

John: “Sorry I can’t save you right now, my feet are hurting after standing for such a long time. You should thank me for letting you see your family one last time. Bye”

After saying bye, Big John left Donovan to die out there.

 

**[Resembool]**

Ed and Alphonse were sitting at the dining hall, enjoying their apple pie. Winry was busy fixing Den’s (Pinako’s pet dog) automail in the verandah, and Pinako was sitting outside the house, on the stairs smoking her pipe.

Ed: “Why are you going to Central, is it because of the state alchemist exam?” (Asking Al)

Al: “No”

Ed: “Oh I see...its Mei, right? I heard, she is coming along with Ling for the Amestris-Xing meeting” (mocking tone)

Al: “Brother…” (Teased tone)

Ed: “Then what’s the reason?”

Al: “I have been called as the guest faculty for alchemy training for 5 days by the military…they would have called you instead of me, but you know, you can’t do alchemy anymore” (Hesitant tone)

Ed was not annoyed listening to that, instead he replied calmly…

Ed: “Its fine, I am happy that you agreed to go there after all those terrible things which happened there”

Al: “You and Winry should also come with me, we can meet Elicia, Mrs. Hughes, General Mustang, Major Hawkeye…”

Something what Al was saying, surprised Ed. So, he interrupted…

Ed: “Wait, WHAT! Colonel Mustang is now General Mustang?”

Al: “Yes, because of the vacancies created after the promised day war, almost everyone who were involved in the war were promoted”

Winry was listening to Ed’s and Al’s conversation.

Winry: “Ed and I will definitely go. It has been a long time since I saw Elicia”

Suddenly, the new phone installed at Ed’s home rang. Winry stood up to pick up the call…

Winry: “Hello…”

Ed and Al were looking at her while she was talking on the phone. Both the brothers could see the way she was reacting to the words she was hearing from the other side, she was giving a mix of surprised and sad look. After finishing the call, she hanged up the telephone receiver and walked toward Ed and Al with a sad face. She sat down on a chair, just beside the dining table and was thinking something. Ed and Al noticed that something was worrying her… 

Ed: “What happened? Who was that?”

Winry: “It was Warrant Officer Fuery from General Mustang’s team”

Al: “What did he tell?”

Winry: “Did you guys knew Mr. Mustang had a 9 year old son?”

Ed, Al: “WHAT!”

Winry: “So, even you didn’t know about that. Looks like he didn’t tell you everything”

Ed: “I can’t believe he had a son all this time and he never told us”

Winry: “Don’t worry, even his team was surprised when he introduced his son to them few days back”

Ed: “Did Lieutenant Hawkeye knew? They knew each other from quite a long time after all”

Al: “She is a Major now, brother”

Ed: “Fiiiine” (annoyed tone)

Winry: “Yes…she is the mother after all” (sad tone)

Ed stopped eating the piece of pie he was eating and surprisingly looked at Winry for a moment. Then he started laughing loudly…

Ed: “Haha…I knew they were not just superior and subordinate. Now I know how Ms. Hawkeye is so good at babysitting (He started laughing). What is their son’s name by the way?”

Winry: “Oliver”

Al: “But, why are you sad? It’s not something to be sad about”

Ed: “I wasn’t interested to go to Central, but now it seems I must go. I am going to tell Oliver all the terrible things about his father”

He laughed out loudly by only thinking about Roy’s face after the situation, but he stopped laughing when he heard Winry’s next sentence.

Winry: “He is dead”

Both the brothers were stunned when they heard Winry.

Ed: “What?”

Winry: “Oliver died yesterday (tears started dropping from her eyes)… somebody killed their son. I never met the kid, yet I can feel how must Ms. Riza be feeling right now” (sobbing tone)

Ed: “So we are called for the funeral?” (Stressed tone)

Winry: “Yes” (sobbing tone)

Oliver’s funeral was communicated to a few selected ones who were very close to Roy and Riza, which included The Elric brothers, Winry, Rebecca Catalina (Riza’s friend), Dr. Knox, Hughes family, Mustang’s team, Armstrong family, Dr. Marcoh (the crystal alchemist), Anna Becker (A lady who had an orphanage, where Oliver was living) and Fuehrer Grumman. Oliver’s death was kept hidden from media, even in school, it was told that Oliver transferred to his old town, and the secret of Riza being his mother never occurred in public eyes. Military hid Oliver’s death because they didn’t want to create a fuss, if the news had been broken to public, Roy’s life would have been difficult considering he was a big name in Amestris now.

 

**[On the way to Othon]**

Many hours had passed since Maria, Danny, Boris and Toby boarded the train. They were far away from the place where they boarded, and were watching the night sky which was full of stars without the moon, while Toby was sleeping peacefully. Suddenly, the train started slowing down and after some time it stopped. Boris took a look outside on why the train stopped…

Maria: “So, why did the train stopped?” (Concerned tone)

Boris turned back to look at Maria and Danny who were looking very concerned.

Boris: “It’s a station”

Maria: “But why would a goods train stop at such a small station? Are they loading some goods here?”

Boris again peeked, but due to darkness and no light in the station, he couldn’t see properly, he was able to see images of two person standing beside a lantern with dim light. One of the person then got inside the engine to the driver’s chamber, and soon after that the train blew its horn and started moving. Everyone relaxed once they found out that nothing happened at the station. One hour passed, the train was moving in full speed when suddenly the train started slowing down again. Boris again peeked out to check if it was some other station, but there was wilderness instead of a station. Soon one person emerged from the wilderness and got inside the first wagon. After that, the train again started moving again. Boris and others understood the pattern that after a certain time interval, the train was stopping and somebody got inside a wagon next to the wagon where the previous person entered. After six hours since the first person who boarded the first wagon, now the next person was supposed to enter the fifth wagon, and Boris and other were inside the sixth wagon. As expected, the train stopped at an isolated place and a big bulky man wearing shredded clothes entered inside the fifth wagon. And after that man boarded, the train again started moving.

Boris: “Something doesn’t seems right. I think after one hour someone is going to enter this wagon”

Maria and Danny gulped in fear.

Danny: “Why is only a single person getting into each wagon?”

Boris: “I am as clueless as you are”

Maria: “I have a bad feeling…we should get out of this train before it stops the next time”

Danny: “You know, you just made the situation worse just by saying that”

Boris: “I think she is right, even I have a bad feeling about this”

Danny’s eyes widened upon listening to Boris’ reply.

Boris: “As the train is at full speed, you two shouldn’t jump. Go to the roof of this wagon and walk to the last wagon, and when the train will stop next time, just get off this train”

Maria: “What about you?”

Boris looked at Toby who was sleeping.

Boris: “I can’t leave my friend” (He smiled)

Danny: “We told you not to bring Toby”

Boris looked at Danny

Boris: “As I told you, I can’t leave my friend”

Maria: “But, what if something happens to you?” (Concerned tone)

Boris: “It was my plan to board this train, it was my plan to bring along Toby, so I should be the one to face the consequences. Also, if you get caught then it won’t be good”

Maria: “We thought the man General Armstrong believed in would be smart”

Danny got out of the door and started climbing toward the roof. Maria also got near the door and began climbing…

Boris: “She has the tendency to trust stupid and broken people, do you know why?”

Maria stopped climbing and looked at Boris…

Boris: “Because they are loyal” (He grinned)

Maria was amazed the way he spoke about General Armstrong as if he knew General Armstrong. She then continued her climbing and reached the roof. Both of them then started walking on the roof toward the back of the train while Boris stayed in the wagon waiting for the mystery to uncover. As expected, after sometime the train started slowing down and stopped. Boris and Toby were sitting looking toward the opened door waiting for someone to enter. They waited for ten minutes, but neither anyone came nor the train started. Boris decided to go out to have a look and Toby followed him. Both of them got off the train, and stepped on the land covered in snow. Because of the absence of the moon, the snow covering the area and light snow flakes falling from the sky were unable to show their beauty. Boris and Toby walked further ahead, but due to the darkness Boris was unable to see anything, he was fully relying on Toby’s night vision. Suddenly, the train started moving, the situation was out of order this time, the train stopped but no one entered inside, because of which Boris was not feeling good about the current situation. After the train left, Boris and Toby walked toward the pine woods in front of them. After walking for a few minutes, Boris heard some footsteps. He and Toby got themselves ready for an attack, but as the footsteps were closing in, they heard a familiar voice…

Danny: “HEY BORIS, ITS US…KEEP YOUR BEAR IN CONTROL”

Danny and Maria came near Boris.

Maria: “What happened?”

Boris: “I don’t know, the train stopped as we expected, but this time no one entered the wagon”

Maria: “Then why did it stop here?”

Boris: “I don’t know”

Danny: “Seems like you have a similar kind of government like ours”

Maria: “Stop talking and let’s find a place to rest”

Boris: “Good thing I brought Toby with me…Toby lead us to safe place boy” (He patted Toby)

Danny: “What? Are we seriously going to trust a bear to find us a safe place?”

Toby growled listening to Danny.

Boris: “Yes”

They were following Toby through the pine woods, covered in snow and while the sky was dropping snowflakes. After sometime, Toby led them to a broken house, situated at the edge of the forest. All of them entered inside the house, which had only two room, one of which seemed like bathroom. The ceiling had lots of holes from which snowflakes were entering, and the floor was covered with broken woods.

Danny: “Looks like this place has been abandoned from years”

Boris: “I think there is still time to sunrise, it will be better if we take some rest”

Danny: “I agree”

Maria and Danny put their sleeping bags beside each other in front of a wall, Boris sat near the door and Toby was sitting close to him giving him some warmth with his furry body.

Maria: “Boris, would you mind if I ask you a question?”

Boris: “Depends on your question”

Maria: “When we were leaving the wagon, you told me something about General Armstrong. How well do you know her?”

Boris took a deep breath and sighed before replying…

Boris: “I met her 15 years ago, so I can tell you the kind of person she was back then. Now, she only sends messages through her subordinates, and every time I meet one of her subordinates, I tell them that it would be great if once in a while she could come herself to meet me, but convincing that woman is very difficult”

Danny: “Does that mean, you tried to hit on her?”

Boris started laughing hesitantly…

Boris: “Well…you see…I don’t think I am the only one who tried to impress her, there must have been many men who would have asked her for marriage” (shy tone)

Danny: “No buddy…it seems you are the only one who has the guts to do it”

Boris: “Has she become that scary?”

Danny: “You can’t imagine”

Maria: “Why don’t you tell us about her? We would like to know what she was like in the past” (enthusiastic tone)

Boris: “Well, if you insist then why not?”

Boris sat upright looking toward Maria and Danny.

Boris: “15 years back, your General Armstrong was not a commanding officer at Fort Briggs, she had the rank of a Warrant Officer. Like you, she was also sent here for a spy mission along with two other Amestrian soldiers named, Second Lieutenant Colada and Warrant Officer Tizona, two men who were very experienced in spy missions…”

**[Flashback]**

Second Lieutenant Colada (Appearance: Tall, well-toned physique, crew cut brown hair, fair complexion, in his mid-thirties), Warrant Officer Tizona (Appearance: Tall, well-toned physique, fully bearded, medium sized black hair, fair complexion, in his early thirties) and Warrant Officer Olivier Mira Armstrong (23 years old, she still had long hairs which covered one of her eyes) were (all of them were wearing civil clothes and a fur coat) running from a group of Drachmann soldiers  and military dogs in a forest covered with pines and snow. They crossed a river which had less water in order to evade the dogs. While running…

Tizona: “Sir, I think we should wait for the three dogs and shoot them with our handguns once they reach us. It will be easier to evade humans than dogs”

They saw a pile of broken trees at a distance…

Colada: “Let’s hide there, and stay separated, but not far away so that we have better chance of fight and escape” (pointing toward the pile of broken trees)

Tizona, Olivier: “Roger”

All of them scattered closely and hid behind the fallen trees. Olivier didn’t know that the place which she chose to hide was already occupied by a person. She was silently sitting at her position. Suddenly she heard a voice…

Boris: “Are you hiding from the military?”

She got scared and looked back instantly pointing her gun. She saw a man standing there, it was Boris who was 25 years old at that time wearing a brown winter outfit, and it was the first time Boris and Olivier met.

Olivier: “Who are you?”

Boris was without any big weapon except a medium sized knife.

Boris: “Hey…hey…stop pointing that gun to me lady” (raising his hands)

Suddenly, Colada and Tizona got behind Boris and pointed their hand gun at Boris. Boris was surrounded by guns pointing at his face…

Colada: “Tell us who you are”

Suddenly they heard the dogs barking…

Boris: “I think I can introduce myself later. At this moment you need to hide somewhere, and I can help you”

Colada: “Why should we trust you?”

Boris: “Are you seriously want to get caught by the military?” (Annoyed tone)

Every put down their guns, and Boris put down his hands. Then Boris quickly pulled out a small bottle from his coat pocket, and sprinkled the liquid inside it on everyone’s body.

Olivier: “What are you doing?”

Boris: “It’s bear urine, it will help you evade the dogs”

Olivier: “What?”

Boris: “Now follow me”

The team had no option but to follow Boris, who led them through the woods to an abandoned house. All of them entered inside the house and settled down…

Colada: “Are you sure those dogs won’t find us here?”

Boris: “They will never come to a bear’s area man”

After sometime when everyone settled down and the sun was about to go down…

Tizona: “Are you also some kind of fugitive?” (Asking Boris)

Boris: “Nope, I just hate this government, and I will help anyone who stands against this government”

Colada: “I see…Team, it’s almost evening, so we will be staying here tonight”

Boris: “I will get some woods then”

Colada didn’t feel right that after bringing them to an abandoned house, Boris was leaving to collect woods. He felt as if it could be a trap…

Colada: “Before you go, aren’t you going to tell us by what name shall we call you?”

Boris: “Oops, sorry for that…my name is Boris, and this is not my house”

Tizona: “Yeah, I knew that, you must be travelling places to collect bear piss” (He grinned)

Boris: “That bear piss saved your life today Mr.….”

Tizona: “You can call me Mr. Tizona, that’s Mr. Colada and that beautiful lady over there is Ms. Armstrong” (pointing to each of them while introducing them)

Boris: “Shall I go to collect woods then?”

Colada: “Hey Armstrong, why don’t’ you go with Boris?”

Boris looked at Olivier, and he started smiling internally for the fact that a beautiful woman is going to give him some company alone.

Olivier: “Sure Sir”

She walked passed Boris and got out of the door

Olivier: “Let’s go”

Boris turned around and got out of the door. Both of them then walked toward the pine forest covered in snow to collect some wood. After they left…

Colada: “I have a feeling that we are in a trap”

Tizona: “Same”

Colada: “What do you think we should do then?”

Tizona: “We should go by your plan I guess?”

Colada: “Let’s move then”

Both of them started shadowing Boris and Olivier. While Boris and Olivier were walking….

Boris: “Are you married Ms. Armstrong?”

Olivier: “No, and for your information I am not interested in you, so you better not start some weird conversation unless you want a punch on your face”

Boris: “Understood”

After that Boris didn’t talk. After walking for some time they reached an area where there were lots of dry woods lying on the ground. Both of them started collecting woods but still Boris didn’t talk, so Olivier decided to break the silence…

Olivier: “You told us you hate the government…why is that?”

Boris: “I will tell you once you start trusting me”

Olivier didn’t reply and kept on collecting woods. Suddenly, she noticed some claw marks on a tree…

Olivier: “Hey Boris, can you come over here and tell what kind of animal did this?”

Boris walked toward to check the claw marks and had a look. There was a long claw mark on the tree done with two claws by some animal. The claw marks were very deep inside the tree bark at 5 feet height from the ground, and the bark area surrounding the claw mark was not destroyed, it was as if done with two knifes pushed deep inside the bark and moved. Boris got serious when he looked at those marks.

Boris: “Are you done collecting woods?” (Serious tone)

Olivier: “Yes”

Boris: “Let’s go from here”

Boris started walking fast with all the woods he collected, and Olivier had to match up with his speed. While walking…

Olivier: “What happened? Were the claw marks of some dangerous wild animal?”

Suddenly they heard the cracking of a dry stem from the back. Both of them stopped and turned back to look what it was. Olivier dropped her woods and pulled out her gun and pointed in the direction from where the sound came, Boris also dropped his woods and pulled out his knife. They were looking at the direction from where the sound came, and they saw two people coming out of their hidings…

Olivier: “What are you doing here?”

Colada and Tizona’s cover was blown, they could no more shadow Olivier and Boris.

Colada: “We thought of helping you”

Boris: “Let’s get to the house quickly”

Boris picked up his woods quickly and started walking fast

Colada: “Stop right there”

Boris turned around and saw Colada was pointing his gun at him.

Colada: “I am having a very hard time in trusting you Boris, why don’t you tell us what is the truth? Why did you help us and why did you take us to that house?”

Boris: “It is not safe out here, please let’s go to the house first” (Anxious tone)

Colada: “No one is going anywhere until you tell us truth. I don’t know about the safety here, but I promise you, if you take one more step I will definitely blow your brains”

Tizona: “Why it isn’t safe here?”

Olivier: “He has been acting weird after we saw that claw marks on a tree. I think those marks were made by some bear”

Tizona: “Is this how you collect bear urine Boris? By running from them?” (Mocking tone)

Sun was on the horizon, and Boris was getting more and more worried. He sighed to calm down and replied…

Boris: “Listen…those claw marks were not of some bear. That was something you would never want to face, nobody knows what it is or what all it can do, but it is said that you should never invade its territory, and we are in its territory…We call it ‘Baba Yaga’”

After listening to Boris, everybody started to laugh.

Tizona: “Man, it looks like you read fairy tales very seriously” (Laughing tone)

Suddenly they heard a loud roar echoing in the forest, and everyone started looking here and there…

Tizona: “What was that?”

Colada: “That must be a bear”

Boris: “Are you people fucking idiots? Even if that’s a bear, are you going to wait here until it shows up and attacks you?” (Angry tone)

Colada: “Even if it’s your imaginary friend Baba Yaga, we are not going anywhere”

The sun was no more on the horizon, now it was moon’s time to shine in the sky with stars. Suddenly, everyone heard some footsteps, they could completely understand that some animal was slowly coming in their direction. Everyone was looking at the direction from where the footsteps were coming. Slowly the beast became visible, it was half wolf and half sheep. When the beast saw them, it stopped and slowly two similar beast (one was half wolf and half goat whereas other one was half wolf and half donkey) joined it. The three beasts were looking at the four humans standing in front of them. The three soldiers pulled out their handguns and pointed toward the beasts, and Boris pulled out his knife. After the beasts growled for few moments, they started running toward them, and everyone started shooting at them. But, none of them were able to hit a single bullet in the beasts. The beasts were closing in very quickly, and fortunately one of Lieutenant Colada’s bullet hit the half wolf half donkey beast on its head and it fell down. The half wolf half goat lunged at Tizona and the other one lunged at Olivier to attack them. Tizona quickly pulled out his Bayonet knife, dodged the beast and pushed his knife inside the beast’s skull. On the other side, the beast which lunged on Olivier received a punch from Boris in midair.

It fell on the ground, and before it could stand up, Boris pushed his big hunting knife inside its skull. Then he pulled back his knife from the beast’s skull, stood up and turned around. Everyone was looking at him…

Boris: “Now can we go?”

Olivier: “Were these what you call Baba Yaga?”

Boris: “These were just the minions, I am sure it must have heard the gun shots. It will be better if we leave this place, forget the house now”

This time everyone had to trust him and all of them left the place.

**[Present Day]**

Maria and Danny were carefully listening to Boris.

Boris: “Bed time story is over. You two should take some rest, I will tell you rest of the story later”

Maria: “There are chimeras in Drachma?” (Surprised tone)

Boris: “By chimeras if you mean those weird creatures, then yes”

Danny: “Is there by any chance we are in Baba Yaga’s territory?” (Worried tone)

Boris: “No, Baba Yaga died a long time ago…now sleep and let me sleep”

Danny and Maria didn’t question Boris anymore and went to sleep. Boris also went to sleep watching the snowflakes entering through the holes in the ceiling.


	7. Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Drachma we find Boris' goal in life which is about finding a friend whom he lost many years ago, after he finds some clues about his friend. We also get to see the reality about the creatures infesting a small village where Maria and others are staying for a small time. Meanwhile, we see a sad funeral in Central city.

Sun was again shining on the land of Drachma, spreading its light on the grasses and snow on the ground. Maria and Danny were awake while Boris was enjoying his sleep with his furry friend. Now that the sun was shining in the sky, the house they were in was visible more clearly. There were marks and small carved drawing on the walls. While Maria and Danny were examining the drawings, Boris spoke from behind which startled them…

Boris: “Can you move aside?”

Boris moved a bit forward to carefully look at one of the carvings. There were three bubbles in which something was written and one bubble was connected with other with arrow marks. The complete carved drawing of those bubble was representing a series of places. On the first bubble, “Lab C” was written which was connected to the bubble in which “Home” was written. The second bubble was then connected to the bubble where there was a question mark. Boris cleaned the wall with his palm to see what else was written on it.  He saw some carvings, so he cleaned more to see what was written there. After he cleaned it, he was shocked to see what was written over there. Maria and Danny were also watching it, but those words on the wall had a far greater impact on Boris, the words which said – “Krish was here”. Boris was speechless, he fell on his knees and started looking at the floor…

Boris: “All this time, I tried to search for you, and you were here all along. More than 25 years passed, not a single clue, I almost gave up on you…I wonder what you would be looking like now old friend, because I am not that young anymore” (He chuckled)

Boris stood up and turned around. There was a genuine smile on his face…

Maria: “Is that Krish person very important to you?”

Boris: “I spent almost my entire life searching for him…and this is the first clue I found after all those years (heavy tone)…yes, he is someone very important to me” (He chuckled)

Everyone was looking at him, even Toby. He walked forward and tousled the bear…

Boris: “Let’s go…I also have some important business in Othon”

They picked up their bag packs and got ready to leave the broken house.

Danny: “So, how are we going to reach Othon from here?”

Maria: “I guess there is a village nearby, I saw a man and his dog going at a distance in the early morning”

Boris: “Then let’s go to the village first”

Danny: “What about Toby?”

Boris: “Don’t worry, he won’t enter the village. He will be wandering near the village avoiding contact from people, we have been doing this from years. He can easily track me if needed”

Danny: “Toby is such a strange bear” (impressed tone)

Boris: “Now let’s go”

They separated from Toby and went toward the nearest village which was easy to track after they met some people on the way. After walking for almost 15 minutes through the grassy field with some snow on the way, they reached the village. The village’s name was “Selonova”. It was an almost abandoned village, only a few families were left in the village, they mostly relied on fishing from the sea which was 3 miles away from the village. When the group entered the village, they saw the people wearing furry coats, furry boots and furry hoods. The village life was looking very dull. They went to a shop where a person (in his sixties) was selling fishes, the person was the only one in the village not covered with furry clothing, instead he was wearing half leather and some furry clothing, and he was sitting alone in his shop waiting for customers. The shop was in the open, so when Boris and team reached near the shop, the shopkeeper stood up and smiled…

Shopkeeper: “Welcome sir, you don’t seem to be from around”

Boris: “No, we are just travelers, we are on our way to Othon. Do you happen to know how far it is from here?”

Shopkeeper: “Well…I think it is about 30 miles from here”

Boris: “Is there any train or other mode of transportation we can use to reach there?”

Shopkeeper: “No sir, you have to walk there, you may find carts, but they can only help to some distance”

Boris: “I see”

Boris started thinking…

Maria: “Can you prepare some fish for us?”

Shopkeeper: “Definitely Miss. How would you like it, raw or grilled?”

Danny: “Grilled”

The shopkeeper pulled out a fish from his shelf and started cutting it…

Maria: “So, why is this village has so less people?”

Shopkeeper: “Everyone is moving to Othon slowly, that’s why the population is continuously decreasing”

Danny: “Why is that?”

Shopkeeper: “There are lots of reason for that, there is no connectivity to other places, there aren’t much facilities in this village, and the most important reason being the safety issue in this place”

Danny: “What safety issue?”

The shopkeeper was finished cutting the fish, so he put the fish pieces on the grill.

Shopkeeper: “This place has been infested with some creatures which come at night and hunt animals and human beings if they find any in the open. So, we stay inside our homes at night, even we keep our huskies inside”

Danny, Maria: “Chimera” (low voice)

Boris: “When did the last incident happened?”

Shopkeeper: “A week back, they took a man about my age. He was drunk and let his door open at night”

Maria: “This seems very dangerous, isn’t the military doing anything about the situation?”

Shopkeeper: “They don’t care about a village full of old people”

Danny: “What do you mean old? Isn’t there a single young person here?” (Surprised tone)

Shopkeeper: “No, everyone left long ago. My son wanted me to go with him but, I have too many memories in this place, I would rather die here than go somewhere else”

The fish he was preparing was ready. He put the grilled fish on a plate and served it to them…

Shopkeeper: “Here is your fish”

Boris: “Do you happen to know about the house present near the forest?”

Shopkeeper: “Yes…that house belonged to a hunter. I think he died very long time ago, may be 20 to 30 years ago”

Boris: “Was there a kid with him? A boy maybe, 14-15 years old?”

Shopkeeper: “After he died someone started living in his house. You are correct, I remember a boy, 14-15 years old living with a man in his late twenties. They didn’t communicate with the villagers much, and one day they suddenly vanished”

Danny and Maria were busy eating fish, while Boris was busy talking to the shopkeeper…

Boris: “Do you remember their names?” (Desperate tone)

Shopkeeper: “I remember the man’s name, it was ‘Artem’. He used to purchase fish from my shop, he was a nice man”

Boris started thinking if he happened to know any person by that name…

Shopkeeper: “There is one thing I can never forget”

Boris started looking at the old man curiously…

Shopkeeper: “There were never cases of creature attack in our village before Artem’s disappearance, but after few months of his disappearance, creature attacks started happening. Initially we thought it to be the attacks of some wild animals, but soon we understood once we saw them. We also tried to kill them, but we lost a lot of our own. Soon, many of the villagers gave up, they decided to leave the village or coexist with the creatures”

Danny and Maria were finished with their food…

Danny: “Thank you for the food, Sir”

Boris looked at the plate in front of them, and there was nothing left.

Boris: “WHAT? YOU ATE IT ALL?”

Danny: “You were busy talking”

Boris: “So you thought you can eat it all?”

Shopkeeper: “Don’t worry, I have more” (He laughed)

The shopkeeper quickly grilled some more fish and packed them. Boris took the packed fish…

Boris: “Thank you Sir”

All of them stood up and started leaving for Othon, suddenly the shopkeeper spoke…

Shopkeeper: “I forgot one thing”

Everyone turned around…

Shopkeeper: “If you are so much interested in Artem, then you should go to ‘Ms. Viola’. She knew Artem very well. She lives in the sixth house from here”

Boris: “Thank you Sir”

The shopkeeper reciprocated with a smile. While walking…

Danny: “Can I ask something Boris, if you won’t mind?”

Boris: “Sure”

Danny: “What if Krish is dead?”

Boris didn’t speak for a moment…

Boris: “Still I am going to find out where he died and how he died”

They searched for Viola’s house and after sometime they found it. They knocked at the door when they reached Viola’s house. After knocking the door for many times, an old woman (in her fifties) wearing furry clothes, opened the door. After she opened the door, she asked…

Viola: “Who is there?”

Boris and team were surprised to see her clouded eyes when she opened the door, it was very easy for anyone to infer that she was blind. After receiving no reply to her question, she asked once more…

Viola: “I asked, who is there?”

Watching no one giving a reply to her question, Danny spoke…

Danny: “My name is Danny, Ms. Viola and I am with two of my friends. I knew Artem, and I got to know that you knew him too. So, would you mind if I ask you some questions about Artem?”

Viola was speechless for a moment…

Viola: “Artem? After 25 years, someone came asking about Artem?”

She was surprised as well as happy at the same time.

Viola: “Is Krish with you?” (Heavy tone)

Momentary happiness appeared on her face when she asked the question. Boris and team were surprised listening to Viola’s question. Boris was speechless, so again Danny had to reply to her…

Danny: “Sorry Ma’am, we have never met Krish, we just know his name and that he was living with Artem. We came here just to get some answers if you won’t mind?”

Viola’s smile disappeared when she heard the answer.

Viola: “Sure, please come in”

All of them entered the house and sat on a sofa available there. Viola also sat on a chair near the sofa…

Viola: “So what do you want to know about Artem?”

Boris: “Everything you know about him”

Viola: “I will try”

Boris: “So, it seems that you knew Krish. Was he the kid living with Artem?”

Viola: “Yes…he was a very nice kid, very lively and joyful. Every day they came to my house, and Krish used to talk about everything he did that day. Sometimes he used play with other kids in the village, but I doubt anyone would even remember his name after so many years”

Boris: “Do you happen to know where did they go?”

Viola: “They went nowhere…Artem was hiding from the military, that poor fellow (she chuckled)…he gave up his life just to save that kid (heavy tone)”

She paused for a moment. Maria quickly brought a glass of water and gave it to her…

Maria: “Here Ms. Viola, have some water”

Viola wiped her tears and took the glass of water...

Viola: “Thank you dear”

Boris: “Is Artem dead?” (Hesitant tone)

Viola: “I want to believe that he is alive… 25 years ago when he left, he said me goodbye like he always did, but that time I felt like he was never going to return, and unfortunately it came true” (heavy tone)

Viola took a sip of water and paused for a moment…

Danny: “Hey Boris, please forgive me, I ate all the fish we just bought” (Guilty tone)

Boris turned around and saw all the grilled fish was gone.

Boris: “HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU EAT ALL THE FISH? DON’T YOU HAVE ANY SHAME? Sorry for my voice, Ms. Viola”

Viola didn’t say anything on reply for his apology, instead she smiled…

Viola: “What a coincidence…Your name is also Boris”

Boris: “Who else’s name is Boris?” (Curious tone)

Viola: “Artem’s…Artem was never his real name, he used that name to hide his true identity. His real name was ‘Boris Bolotov’ “

Boris got startled when he heard Viola’s answer…

Boris: “How can that be?” (Surprised and hesitant tone)

Danny: “That’s pretty normal man, I have met many people whose name is same as me”

Boris: “My name is Boris Bolotov” (stressed tone)

Everyone was surprised to know that Artem’s real name and Boris’ name were exactly same.

Danny: “Now that is weird”

Maria: “Boris, have you ever been to this region?” (Curious tone)

Boris: “No”

Danny: “I think Boris lost his memory about Krish and this village 25 years ago”

Maria: “Shut up Danny”

Viola: “No way is he my Boris, I can recognize his voice anywhere and anytime. I think it’s a coincidence that you share the same name as my Boris, and Boris was older than me. Do you happen to be 55 years old?”

Danny burst into laugh.

Boris: “No”

Danny stopped laughing.

Danny: “So Ms. Viola, were you and Boris close? I mean close friends?”

Viola smiled.

Viola: “We were nothing like that. He met me when he started living in the hunter’s house, he always had a soft spot for poor things. You can say I knew him, but I didn’t know him much. I knew that he was working for the Drachmann military, but I never knew what work he did or from where did Krish come”

Boris: “For how much time did they stay in the hunter’s house?”

Viola: “Two years”

Maria: “We got to know that the creature attacks started after few months of their disappearance. Is that true?”

Viola: “Yes, it is true that creature attacks started after their disappearance. Many of the villagers fought with them and later gave up…but, whatever happening now a days is not a normal creature attack. They make some human noises to lure people outside, and I believe there is only one creature coming every night unlike earlier when a group of creatures used to attack the village”

Danny: “The story is giving me chills man” (He started rubbing his arms)

Viola: “Why don’t you stay here tonight?”

Danny: “We can’t…we need to get to Othon”

Viola: “I see”

Boris: “Ms. Viola, has anyone seen the creature?”

Viola: “I don’t think so”

Boris: “Does it repeat the words, like someone in need of help or is in pain?”

Viola: “No, it talks like a normal human. It even replies to the question you ask”

Maria: “How do you know that?”

Viola: “That’s because I have talked to him. It felt like he is in pain”

Maria: “He?”

Viola: “Yes, it was the voice of a man. He was standing on the other side of the wall, he asked me to come out. When I asked him why? He told me he wanted to kill me, he wanted to tear my body apart and free my soul”

Danny: “Aren’t you afraid?”

Viola: “I have grown used to this like everyone else in the village”

Boris: “I have encountered some individuals in the past who can transform into some creatures”

Maria: “We also know some individuals like that, but I have never heard a case like this”

Danny: “I think the person is a cannibalistic psychopath”

Maria: “Don’t you think it’s weird that last night we were not attacked. I mean, if the creature lives in this area and attacks people at night, then it should have attacked us when we were sleeping in a broken house”

Danny: “Maybe it didn’t find us”

Maria: “Ms. Viola, we will be stay here tonight”

Danny: “No we are not, we have some important business at Othon”

Boris: “We can leave for Othon tomorrow, its only 30 miles from here after all”

Danny got irritated with Maria’s answer.

Danny: “Now if you will excuse us, Maria and I have to buy some grilled fish”

Boris: “But don’t you dare eat the fish this time on the way”

Danny and Maria got out of Viola’s house after that…

Danny: “What do you think you are doing? Have you forgotten that we have a mission which we have to complete in one month?” (Annoyed tone)

Maria: “No, I haven’t forgotten. Don’t you think there is something weird going around here in Drachma? First we boarded a military controlled train which used to stop at random locations after certain time intervals to pick one person who boarded on a single wagon. Now, we have come to a village where a human chimera is attacking the villagers”

Danny: “So what? We are not here to hunt chimeras”

Maria: “Don’t you get it Danny? Human chimeras were a result of human transmutation experiments in our country that was being conducted by the military, which can also be happening in Drachma”

Danny: “If human transmutation is being done by Drachma, then it also means that Drachma does have alchemists, and if they do have alchemists then why haven’t they used them in battles? Also, based on the information provided to us, human transmutation requires philosopher’s stone otherwise the alchemist will lose one of their body parts”

Maria: “I know”

Danny: “Then you also know that there is no other country who have the knowledge of making a philosopher’s stone, and I don’t think they will be sacrificing alchemists to make a human chimera, if they really do have alchemists”

Maria: “I can understand Danny. And if we catch this chimera, we can clear all our doubts”

Danny sighed

Danny: “So how are you planning to do that?”

Maria: “For that we have to talk to Boris, and it will be easier if you can bring some grilled fish first” (She smiled)

 

**[Central City]**

Everybody who were close to Roy or Riza were gathered for their son’s funeral but, nobody knew that they had a son together until they were invited for the funeral, and Fuehrer Grumman made sure to suppress the matter so that it wouldn’t reach to media. Only a handful of people were told the truth about Oliver. After sometime, the funeral started, Oliver’s body was inside a coffin and was being buried. As it was not a funeral of some military person, nobody was in uniform that day. It was midday but, heavy clouds were blocking the sunlight as if the heaven was also mourning the death of a young soul. While Oliver was being buried, Riza was breaking down to tears…She was a mother after all, and no mother in the world can hold down her tears when she sees her child getting buried before she does. Nobody in the funeral had ever seen the side of Riza Hawkeye which they were witnessing that day, all they ever knew was that she was strict, professional and cold in most of the situations. In that difficult moment, Rebecca, Gracia and Winry were besides her to give her some strength. After sometime the funeral was over, everyone were busy talking to each other and meeting Roy and Riza before leaving. Roy was sitting alone on a bench near the burial site of his son, watching that Ed and Al went to meet him…

Ed: “Hey Colo…”

Al: “Brother, he is a General now”

Ed: “Hey General Mustang”

Roy looked at them with a fake smile.

Roy: “Fullmetal… Alphons”

Ed: “I am not that person anymore, General”

Roy: “So, I heard you two are going to travel the world…big dream, huh?”

Al: “Yes, brother and I are going to travel to have more understanding about alchemy, after rebuilding our house”

Roy: “You two are doing a great job like always”

Ed and Al didn’t reply to that. After a short pause…

Ed: “We are sorry for your loss General” (Empathizing with Roy)

Roy: “Thank you”

Ed: “We didn’t know you had a son”

Roy: “Nobody knew”

Ed: “How old was he?”

Roy: “He was only 9… It’s almost the same age when I met you two.” (He smiled)

Al: “How is Major Hawkeye?”

Roy: “I don’t think I can say how a mother feels in this situation”

Al: “You and Major Hawkeye have done so much for us… if there is anything we can do, please let us know”

Roy: “Thank you boys”

Sometime later everybody left the funeral ground and only the parents of the dead boy were left. Riza was standing in front of her son’s burial place and Roy was standing beside her.

Riza: “Oliver Mustang, born 1906, died 1915… Next in the Mustang family line. Was he good at alchemy?”

Roy: “So you knew all along?”

Riza: “I just didn’t want to ruin your moments”

Roy: “I have something for you”

He entered his hand inside his pocket and pulled out a small badly crafted wooden dog figurine

Roy: “He made this dog figurine using a transmutation circle once. He wanted to show it to you very badly, but I told him not to”

He gave it to Riza…

Roy: “This was the first thing he made using alchemy and he wanted you to have it.”

Tears started dropping from Riza’s eyes and fell on that figurine. There was pause for a moment.

Riza: “Why do you love me?”

Roy was caught off guard when she suddenly asked the question out of blue.

Roy: “I wish I knew the exact answer to that… It’s just that, you make me feel alive”

Riza: “We both are hopeless (She chuckled sadly)…Sometime I think, if you had never joined the military, we would be a happy family right now, Oliver would be alive now”

Tears were dropping from her eyes. He embraced her with his right hand and she put her head on his shoulder while both of them looking at the grave of their son.

 

 

**[Selonova village – Drachma]**

It was a clear night, moon was spreading its light on the village, while snowflakes were dropping from the sky. The road was white because of the snowflakes, and the moonlight was making it more beautiful. Like they heard, there was no one outside that time, because it was the time of monster. Boris was sitting outside Viola’s house, waiting for the monster to show up. To pass his time, he was making flower drawings on the ground with his knife. Suddenly, he heard some footsteps. When he lifted his head up to see what was that, he saw a wolf having a size of a cow, with a skinny body was looking at him while salivating from 50 meters away. Boris stood up…

Boris: “I guess you are the creature then, but I thought you would be a bit healthy and be looking more like a human”

Creature: “I will…e…eat…you alive”

Boris: “You can try”

The creature bared his teeth and started running toward Boris, but Boris was standing there relaxed, he was not even pointing his knife toward the creature. When the creature was only some feet away from him, Toby rushed out of the shadows and attacked the creature. The creature fell on the ground, but it again stood up quickly and ran toward Boris ignoring Toby, its eyes were filled with bloodlust. Boris quickly dodged the creature and ran toward Toby, and stood behind him. The creature got angrier and turned around to look at Boris, but this time it couldn’t attack him directly because Toby was standing in front of him. Boris pulled out his other knife and started taunting the creature, and it worked. The creature charged toward him, and reacting to that, Toby stood up on his hind legs and spreading his claws. It was very scary to see a 9 feet tall bear spreading his big claws and roaring, but still the creature didn’t stop. It leaped forward to attack Toby, and as expected, Toby hit it with his paws. The creature flew away to some distance and hit a wall. Soon after that, Toby charged toward it. Watching that, the creature stood up and dodged him, then it quickly ran toward Boris as soon as it got a chance.  As soon as it got near Boris, it jumped toward him, but Boris again evaded the attack by rolling out of the way, and at the same time hurting one of the legs of the creature with his knives. Soon after that, Boris again ran toward Toby and stood beside him. The creature got angrier after receiving a blow from the bear and a cut from Boris. Blood from its leg was spilling on the snow, yet it wanted to kill Boris. Boris was standing, pointing his knife toward the creature and Toby was beside Boris baring his teeth.

Boris: “What a pathetic and ugly looking creature you are” (mocking tone)

The creature was already angry enough, but it understood that it was not going to win the fight in a direct encounter, so it turned around to go. As soon as it turned around, it saw a spark and quickly after that the creature got surrounded by fire. On one side of the fire circle surrounding the creature, there were Boris and Toby, and on the other side, Maria and Danny were standing at some distance with their hand guns…

Danny: “Are you sure that chimera won’t come toward us?”

Maria: “If we don’t shoot then it might”

Danny and Maria started shooting near the creature. There was fire surrounding the creature, and due to its nocturnal nature, the creature was unable to handle the sudden heavy light from the fire. It was unable to see clearly, but it could see the faint image of Boris and Toby in one direction, and was able to hear the gunshots from other direction. There was one more way that the creature was able to see faintly, so it jumped out of the fire and started running in that direction. Just after running few meters, it felt something below its feet and before it could do anything, it was trapped inside a net, hanging on log that was placed on the roof of two houses. Soon the fire was extinguished by Boris and team, and they went to see the creature. They were looking up at the creature, who was struggling inside the net and looking down at them with a pissed off face, and salivating badly.

Danny: “What an ugly creature?” (Disgusted tone)

Boris: “Looks like it is really hungry”

Suddenly, they heard a gunshot and a bullet hit the log. Everyone was startled…

Danny, Maria, Boris: “WHAT THE FUCK?”

They looked at the direction from where the bullet came, and saw an old man was holding a rifle, loading bullet, was coming toward them.

Maria: “Where did he come from?”

Boris: “WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING OLD MAN?”

Old man: “At long last, I can finally take my revenge”

Danny: “You can take your revenge, old man, but first we need some answers from this thing”

The old man again shot a bullet, but it missed.

Maria: “We can understand your pain Sir, but plea…”

Old man: “No, you don’t” (Angry tone)

The old man was again loading a bullet in his rifle.

Danny: “This is our catch man, you can’t just come and take it away from us”

Old man: “I don’t care”

Suddenly, everyone heard the sound of cracking wood…

Maria: “Did you guys hear that” (concerned tone)

Everyone looked up at the creature, and saw the log was breaking slowly…

Danny: “Fuck”

Maria: “Stay on the way to the old man, the chimera shouldn’t reach him”

And just after few seconds, the log broke and the net which contained the creature fell on the ground. The creature stood up slowly and looked at the team who were blocking the path between it and the old man. It was baring his teeth and salivating, and because its leg was wounded by Boris, it was bleeding over the snow. His eyes were full of anger, but it understood that it was outmatched by three humans and a big brown bear, so it turned around and ran toward the snowy wilderness. All of them then turned around to look at the old man who was just standing few feet away from them…

Danny: “Hey old man, do you know...that because of you, our whole plan failed?” (Angry tone)

Old man: “I just wanted my revenge. That monster, took my grandson yea...”

Danny: “But, you failed to kill the monster, instead you… FREED THE MONSTER” (Angry tone)

Maria: “Stop scolding the old man Danny, what’s done is done. Now we have to track down the chimera, I think we can follow the blood trails on the ground, but it would have nice if we had a dog in this situation”

Boris: “For your information Miss, bears smelling ability is even stronger than dogs…I think you should be happy that we have bear instead of a dog”

Maria: “Then let’s catch the chimera”

Old man: “I am also going with you” (Stiff tone)

Hearing that, Danny quickly walked near the old man and closed in his face near the old man’s face…

Danny: “No…you are not”

After saying that, he pulled away the old man’s rifle…

Danny: “I will be taking this”

All of them went toward the wilderness in search of the creature by following its blood trails and foot prints, and if that was not enough, they had a bear to find the location of the creature. While walking through the woods…

Danny: “I still believe that these chimeras were a way of attacking Drachma by our country in the past and now they are stuck here”

Maria: “You might be true, but if that was the case then why isn’t the Drachmann military exterminating them?”

Boris: “I think we are closer to find the truth”

There was a cave in front of them where the blood trails were going…

Danny: “I don’t think it’s a good idea to go inside a dark cave, where we definitely know that a crazy chimera is present, and which desperately wants to kill us”

Maria: “We have no choice, this chimera can give us a lot of answers”

Danny: “Why don’t we make a trap out here?”

Boris: “It might not work, this cave could be having multiple exits, and if I am not wrong, you don’t have enough time to waste here”

Maria: “Correct, let’s go in”

Boris: “Don’t worry Danny, we have a bear with us. Toby can easily see in the dark and smell the creature’s presence…it will be easy” (He smiled)

Before entering the cave, they made a torch and lit it on fire. Toby was walking on the front, and just behind him Boris was holding the torch in one hand and a knife on other hand, Maria was behind Boris with her hand gun, and Danny was walking last in the line holding a rifle which he took from the old man. While they were walking, they could clearly see the blood trails on the floor…

Danny: “How hard did you cut its leg Boris?”

Boris: “I am not sure, but watching that it’s still bleeding, I believe I might have cut it pretty hard. If we are lucky, then it might have weakened by now”

They entered more and more inside the cave, following the trail of blood and the scent of the creature. There were lots of animal skeleton inside the cave, and they went deeper they found torn off clothes and human skeletons. There were mostly skulls of adult humans, but some of the skulls were of children as well. Finally, they reached the place where the blood trail was ending, and the creature was lying beside the wall of the cave. The creature was also able to see them, but it was too weakened to move…

Boris: “Looks like it has suffered lots of injuries, it’s not even able to move its jaw properly”

Maria: “After you hurt its leg, it jumped through fire and fell from a height after being captured. This chimera was already looking very weak, may be it hasn’t eaten anything from a long time”

Boris: “Maybe its last prey was the drunken old man from the village, and that was weeks ago”

Suddenly, the creature spoke in a very low voice…

Creature: “Food”

Maria: “Has anyone got anything?”

Boris sighed…

Boris: “I got a fish in my bag”

After saying that he pulled out a fish from his bag. Watching that Toby growled…

Boris: “Sorry Toby, I will get you another one from the village”

Toby calmed down and Boris gave the fish to Maria…

Boris: “But before you feed it or patch its wound, we need to tie it up”

Maria: “Okay”

Boris and Danny tied up the creature, then they patched its wound and fed him. Even though the fish was not enough to satisfy its hunger, it was good enough to give it some strength. While the creature was eating fish, Danny and Boris were looking at the surroundings using the torch they had, Toby was sitting at a corner and Maria was feeding the creature. While looking, Boris and Danny found a torn plain full shirt covered only with dirt on the floor. Danny picked up the shirt and cleaned it. By that time, the creature was finished with the fish they provided to it. The creature then stood up and was staring at them…

Boris: “Great, looks like we can now question it”

There was pause for a moment, after which Maria spoke…

Maria: “Can you understand us?”

Creature: “Untie…me…I...I…promise…I won’t…k…kill you. I will kill…only…those two” (It was talking with pauses)

Danny: “Please untie it, let it show its skills to kill us which it couldn’t show us back there” (Sarcastic tone)

Maria: “Do you have a name?”

Creature: “U…UNTIE ME”

Boris: “I think it has lost all of its memory”

Maria: “Do you remember being human?”

Creature: “UNTIE ME” (It growled)

Maria: “Fine, if you don’t want to tell us, we are not going to untie you”

The creature started staring them by baring his teeth. Sometime passed and the creature was unable to intimidate them. Finally it gave up…

Creature: “I…d…don’t…remember…m…my name…b…but I…remember…being…human”

The team woke up when they heard the creature speak…

Maria: “Do you remember anyone?”

Creature: “No”

Danny showed the torn full shirt to it…

Danny: “Does this belongs to you?”

The creature didn’t reply. Danny saw a front pocket on the shirt which was filled with dirt. Danny checked inside the pocket to check if there was something, and fortunately there was actually something inside the pocket. He pulled it out, it was a folded photograph…

Maria: “What is that?”

Danny: “Looks like a photograph”

Maria and Boris got closer to Danny to have a look at the photograph. Danny unfolded it, and saw a black and white photograph of a girl 13-14 years old standing beside a boy around her age wearing sweaters and round caps to cover their ears. Both the kids were looking very happy, embracing their arm around each other’s shoulder while looking toward the camera. Danny showed the photograph to the creature…

Danny: “Do you know anyone from this photograph?”

The creature was looking very carefully at the photograph, and after some moment tears started dropping from its eyes. Watching that everyone was shocked…

Maria: “Do you know someone here” (Pointing at the photograph)

Creature: “B…B…Brother”

Hearing that, Danny quickly turned around the photograph to look at it. At the same time, the creature was looking toward them with a sad look, thinking about something with tear in its eyes, and it was continuously uttering the word- “Brother” in a low voice…

Maria: “Looks like the boy in the photograph is the chimera’s brother, and this girl might be her or someone else”

They looked at the creature…

Boris: “It seems like something really bad happened to this person”

Suddenly the creature stopped crying and uttering the word “Brother”….

Creature: “P…P…Please…un…untie me” (It asked with a sad look on its face)

Boris: “What do you think guys? Shall we untie it?”

Maria, Danny: “Yes”

Boris: “But what if it tries to attack us?”

Maria: “Then we will capture it again, it is already too weak”

Boris: “Fine” (Surrendering tone)

Boris walked toward the creature, and pulled out his knife. Watching that, Toby stood up. Boris then cut the ropes and quickly backed down. After the creature was untied, it stood up slowly and walked toward one corner, and started digging up something. After digging, the creature pulled out a small leather purse with its mouth and walked toward Maria. After it reached close enough to Maria, it stopped and offered the purse to her. Maria was scared initially watching such a big terrifying creature close to her, but she gathered courage and pulled out the purse from its mouth. Then she opened the purse and saw a folded piece of paper was inside it over which, “To My Little Sister” was written. She unfolded it to see what was so important in that piece of paper that the creature hid it. When she unfolded it, she found out that it was some letter. As everyone was looking at the letter, Maria decided to read it aloud…

Maria: “Dear Louie…”

Meanwhile they were busy reading the letter, they were unaware that the creature was walking slowly and unsteadily toward the exit of the cave.

Maria: “The choices which we choose in our lives defines how our lives going to be. Sometimes making choices affects others in our lives whom we care about. It might be too late now to say these things, but I don’t want to say my goodbye with this burden in my heart. So, I want to let you know that you were always been my world and will always remain my whole world. I always wanted to protect you, I always wanted to make the world a happy place for you, but I was so occupied to bring you all the happiness that I forgot about the choices I was making. Sometimes I think, if we would have stayed in the slums, we would still have our humanity, even if we didn’t have enough food to eat, we would have been satisfied with whatever we eat. But, now those things cannot happen, I can only ask you for your forgiveness. Please forgive me for I was unable to be a good brother, please forgive me that I led you to Lab C, and please forgive me for I was unable to ask for your forgiveness in front of you.

Yours foolishly,

Henry”

When they finished the letter, Maria’s and Danny’s eyes were filled with tears. Suddenly they heard some noises coming from out of the cave. The old man which tried to kill Louie (the creature), had brought a group of the villagers equipped with weapons to kill her.

Old man: “Come out you monster, your time has come”

Maria and team looked around for Louie, but they could only hear her slow footstep…

Boris: “I think she is going toward the exit”

Maria: “We have to stop her, otherwise the villagers will kill her”

All of them quickly stood up and ran toward the exit. Meanwhile, Louie was only few steps away from the exit, and she took those few steps. As soon as she stepped out of the cave, she was pierced with wooden spears, attacked with various weapons by the villagers. All the rage they had against the creatures was unleashed on her that night. She fell on the mild snow floor, while the sky was dropping snowflakes on her body, and she was busy taking her final breathe in that cold weather. When the team came out of the cave, it was too late, she was already gone, but the people were still kicking her body, unleashing the infinite rage they had. Watching that, Maria rushed toward the mob and stopped them from kicking her dead body.


	8. Motherhood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, we find the reason why Riza joined military and how eventually she fights in Ishvalan war which changes her perception of life. When Riza meets Roy in the battlefield after two long years, she asks him to burn off her tattoo, and we see the interaction when Roy burns it off in an old isolated broken temple at some distance from Ishval. We get to meet a strange person (His name is Dummy) who happens to be in the temple.

Roughly 10 months passed since Oliver was born, Riza and Matilda were busy taking care of Oliver. Riza was working in a nearby flower shop and took Oliver with her whenever she was at work. The owner of the flower shop used to call her by middle name instead of her first name, because Elizabeth was also the owner’s daughter name who was living in some other part of the country. Because the owner used to call her by her middle name, other people of the town who came to the flower shop also called her Elizabeth. Riza was at work one day, spraying water on the flowers and Oliver was sleeping in his cradle that the owner of the flower shop gifted her.

Anonymous: “Can I have some flower Ms.?”

Riza turned to look at him, it was Krid Novak (the same person who killed Yin – Yang twin’s father, introduced in chapter 2), the blind person who was being secretly monitored by Roy in the past as a part of his mission in the town. Riza was a little afraid at first because she knew some details about him which Roy told her during his mission, but she calmed down and replied with a smile…

Riza: “What flower would you like Sir?”

Krid: “What flower is the most fragrant according to you?”

Riza: “Personally I think Gardenia is the most fragrant one, but people generally prefer flowers which are good looking and fragrant at the same time”

Krid: “I can’t see if you haven’t noticed, so fragrance is the only thing I am here for”

Riza: “Sorry Sir, I didn’t mean to…”

Krid: “Stop apologizing, you were just doing your work. Now, it will be great if you can please give me a bouquet of ‘Gardenias’”

Riza: “Sure”

Riza gathered some gardenias, and made a bouquet out of it. She then gave it to Krid…

Riza: “Here Mr. Novak, your flowers. Keep them in a vase with some water, and they will last a bit longer” (She smiled)

Krid: “Thank you for the advice, Ms ?”

Riza: “People call me Elizabeth” (She smiled)

Suddenly, Oliver started crying as he woke up from his slumber…

Krid: “Is that your child?”

Riza: “Yes, that’s my son. Now, if you will excuse me for a moment?”

She rushed toward her son and picked him up from his cradle, carried him on her arms , putting his head on her shoulder, and softly patted him on his back to stop his cry…

Krid: “How old is he?”

Riza: “He is just 10 months old”

Oliver started crying more loudly…

Krid: “Now go feed him, it seems he is very hungry…here, take the money and don’t worry about the change”

He offered the payment for the flowers he bought. Riza took the amount with one hand…

Riza: “Thank you Mr. Novak”

After Krid left the shop, Riza entered inside a room to feed him. After some moment, when she finished feeding Oliver, she lulled him to put him to sleep, but Oliver was not interested to sleep, he was clung to his mother and didn’t want to leave her. So, Riza took him out of the room and sat at the flower shop holding him, and as there was no customer around, she started playing with her son. While they were having fun, someone interrupted them….

Matilda: “Does he always disturbs you like this?”

Riza recognized the voice and stood up carrying Oliver in her arms.

Riza: “I like it when he disturbs me like this…so, were you also missing Oli?”

Matilda: “I was missing both of you, I couldn’t wait till you come home so, I came here…you know I can help you sell flowers, but then, people prefer a pretty young lady than a pretty old one to buy flowers from” (She smiled)

Riza laughed. After she finished her laugh, Matilda spoke in a serious tone…

Matilda: “There is something else I want to talk to you about”

Riza: “Is it something important?”

Matilda: “Yes…a mail came today from the military…Are you joining the military?” (Concerned tone)

Riza took a deep breath and exhaled before replying…

Riza: “Yes, I thought I can raise Oli properly if I do a real job”

Matilda: “But, why military over all?”

Riza: “I think it’s the only way to make this world a better place”

Matilda: “Do you know how stupid you sound? Your world is here, you are carrying your world on your arms right now…Why don’t you talk to me before you take a decision like this?”

Riza: “Ms. Becker, if I would have talked to you then you would have never let me apply for the military”

Matilda: “You are correct”

Riza sighed…

Riza: “Military was the only good job I could find. With a job in military, I can raise Oli properly…My grandfather is in military, I think he can help me out with Oli”

Matilda understood that she was not going to change her mind, so she calmed down…

Matilda: “Do they have any facilities for single mothers?”

Riza: “There should be…besides that, I will have a good salary to raise Oli and there are good schools in the cities”

Matilda: “I don’t think I can ever change your mind” (surrendering tone)

Riza: “Have you brought the mail?”

Matilda pulled an envelope from her purse and handed it to Riza.

Matilda: “Here”

Riza opened the envelope to read the letter…

Matilda: “So, how many days we have?”

Riza: “Two weeks” (worried tone)

Matilda: “I guess, I have to take care of Oliver all by myself then?”

Riza: “Training camp is in the next town so, I will be able to come very often…It’s just that I won’t be able to give much time to Oli then”

Matilda sighed…

Matilda: “Hope you make this world a better place (in a worried voice) … and remember to punch hard that bastard on face if you meet him”

Riza: “You don’t need to tell me that” (She said while laughing)

 

Two weeks later, Riza left to join the military training campus. Like every mother, it was hard for her to leave her child with someone else even though the person is very much trust worthy. Training at the military campus was very tough but she managed to get through all obstacles. She was at the top of her batch and she had a very good and cute reason for that. Her skill with guns was unmatched, even the experienced snipers had tough time competing with her in a sniping show down. She also made some friends but, she never talked about Oliver with them. Her skills at the flower shop might have helped her gain some friends. Because the training camp was closer to her hometown, she was able to go home at least once a week to spend time with her son, and everybody thought she had to go home every week to see her ill mother. Nobody in training campus knew that she was a mother, also she was too focused with her profession that nobody could have thought that once she had a man in her life.

Almost a year passed , Oliver was now almost 2 years old, everything was going well until King Bradley issued order 3066, sending state alchemists into the front lines to act as human weapons. There were lots of casualties on both sides. There were only a handful of snipers left to protect the state alchemists and other soldiers when they were in the field so, military took in some fresh snipers from military training camp. As Riza was the best sniper in the camp, it was inevitable for her to not get selected; in fact she was among the top 3 snipers to be selected. Before leaving for war, she thought of visiting her home town to see Oliver and Matilda.

After Riza left for military, Oliver was living with Matilda. It was small house where Matilda used to bake cakes and cupcakes for living. That day, Matilda was baking some cupcakes like usual days and Oliver was playing with some toys on the ground. When Matilda put a set of cupcakes inside the oven and turned around, she found that Oliver was not there. She panicked and shouted “Oli..Oli” and ran outside the kitchen. As soon as she got out of the kitchen, she saw Riza holding her son in her arms, giving kisses to him and Oliver was laughing.

Matilda: “Is your training finished this time?”

Riza: “No”

Matilda: “I am glad that your training campus is in the next town”

Riza: “Yes, I am very lucky…this way I can easily meet my sweety tweety baby boy” (adorable tone)

She kissed Oliver on his belly button due to which he started laughing. She sat on the sofa with Oliver in her arms.

Riza: “I need to tell you something”

Matilda: “What is it?”

Riza: “The thing is…”

Matilda interrupted before she could complete her sentence

Matilda: “Don’t tell me that you are pregnant once more”

Riza laughed.

Riza: “No, the thing is, military needed some snipers at Ishval so, I have been assigned to Ishval until the war is over”

Matilda was shocked after hearing her. The room was silent and suddenly, Matilda yelled at her.

Matilda: “WHAT? YOU ARE GOING TO WAR?”

Riza: “Yes, I have no choice. They needed snipers”

Matilda: “DO YOU KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO OLI IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO YOU?”

Riza: “Yes, that’s why I have come to see you and Oli in case I never see you again. Please take care of Oli and raise him to be a good man if something happens to me… and don’t let him join the military” (She smiled sadly after saying that)

Matilda calmed down.

Matilda: “Why are you doing this to this child? First his father left, he doesn’t even know Oli exists. Now, you are going to a place where you may die”

Riza: “Roy is a state alchemist now, so he must be in the war right now”

Matilda: “OH, THAT’S A GREAT NEWS. OLI MIGHT BECOME AN ORPHAN” (Angry tone)

Riza: “I guess, I have also become dog of the military just like him”

There was a pause for some time. Matilda couldn’t get any madder at her so, she calmed down. She knew the only punishment for a deserter was death so, Riza had no choice but to go to the war, and that was only way for Riza to keep any hope to meet her son again.

Matilda: “So, when are you leaving for Ishval?”

Riza: “Tomorrow morning”

Matilda: “WHAT! WE JUST HAVE TODAY?”

Riza: “Yes”

Next morning Riza was ready to leave for Ishval wearing her uniform. She was holding Oliver in her arms…

Riza: “Ms. Becker…please take good care of Oli and if I don’t come…you can reach out to my grandfather in the military, Major General Grumman. Also…I have put my house’s paper at the East City bank, so that when he is old enough he will inherit the house”

Matilda: “Just stop saying stupid things already. I know you will come back”

Riza: “Sure I will (she smiled)…wish I had a photograph of Oli”

Right at that moment, Oliver kissed her mother on her cheek. Riza got surprised by her son’s action, she looked at him and started laughing, and after sometime her laugh turned to tears…

Riza: “I guess, memories are enough then” (Sobbing tone)

Riza kissed Oliver and gave him to Matilda but, Oliver was not ready to leave his mother, he was holding to her uniform. Riza removed his tiny hands from her uniform and picked her luggage but, Oliver was still trying to reach his mother. He started crying, he was trying to reach his mother with both his hands.

Riza: “Don’t cry tough guy…if you will cry, you are going to make mama weak” (Sobbing tone)

After saying that, she walked away, wiping out the tears from her eyes which were not stopping. Time was passing away in the field of battle, and every night before sleep Riza remembered her son to forget all the horrible things she was committing in the battlefield. Many times Riza had the urge to kill herself when she figured out that the war was on sided after the state alchemists joined the battle field, but desire to meet her son kept her alive. 1 month passed since Riza joined the Ishval war, she was too much changed now. Shooting dummies and shooting real people are totally different things. She was killing people from the shadows most of the time, whom she did not want to kill but, she had to make a choice whenever she shoot, it was either her ally or her enemy, she was always responsible for someone’s death due to her job as a sniper. After order 3066, Ishvalan war was not a war anymore, it was more of an extermination of Ishvalan people. Due to this, many soldiers felt guilt for killing innocent people, some of whom were women and children. Some soldiers committed suicide for taking part in this genocide and some soldiers had reason to live even though the burden was overwhelming.

One day, during sniping in an area, Riza found out that Roy was there. After cleaning up the area, she went to meet Roy, he was standing with Captain Maes Hughes on a higher plain. She first got a bit closer to them keeping her hood on While Maes and Roy were talking, she then stood at the lower ground and interrupted…

Riza: “Hello Major Mustang, long times no sees... do you still remember me?”

She removed her hood after saying that. Roy looked at her, but he wasn’t surprised to see her, he already knew that Riza joined the military and was in Ishval war as a sniper. The only reason he did not meet her was because he had no courage to face her after such a long time. But now, she was right in front of him, and he was too much upset watching her at the place where he never wanted to see her.

Roy: {Damn this war…even her…she has the eyes of a killer too}

Roy never told Maes about his relationship with Riza in the past, even on that day he didn’t tell Maes. So, Maes got curious because the way his friend was looking her. Maes could see the pain in Roy’s eye in that moment, and he couldn’t stop but to ask Riza…

Maes: “Sorry to interrupt Ms., but how do you know my dear friend, Major Roy Mustang?”

Roy: “Stop it Maes, I got to know her from the military training camp one”

Maes: “And why did you suddenly got interested in a girl from the military training camp?” (Mocking tone)

Riza understood that Roy didn’t want to reveal his relationship with her in the past to his annoying friend, so she acted along…

Riza: “For the same reason I am here…I was the best sniper of my batch”

Maes didn’t speak after that…

Roy: “Now, why don’t we sit somewhere?”

Riza was no anymore mad at Roy, the only thing which was bothering her now was the war. Riza, Roy and Maes sat on the collapsed building parts to have a conversation…

Riza: “Maybe you can answer this Major…Why are we being ordered to kill citizens when we should be the one protecting them…I thought alchemy was meant to help people so, why it is being used to kill them instead?”

In between the conversation of those three, a renowned state alchemist, Solf J. Kimblee interfered, who was also sitting near them and was listening to their conversation…

Kimblee: “Because that’s the job we state alchemists have been given to do…You ask why we are killing these people instead of protecting them? Because this is a war and that’s what soldiers do…Isn’t that right?”

Roy: “You think this is our job? To cause tragedy?”

Kimblee: “Well that’s how it seems…now let’s see…Tell me miss…you are not very happy to be here, well you don’t appear to be…But, can you honestly tell me in that split second when you take down an enemy, you don’t allow yourself to feel the slightest satisfaction and pride in your skills? Well miss marksman…”

Riza felt the horrible things she did when she heard Kimblee and became very terrified and uncomfortable. Upon watching that, Roy rushed toward Kimblee and grabbed his collar.

Roy: “That’s enough Kimblee” (threatening tone)

Kimblee: “I will tell you what I don’t get…did you people expect something else? You act like you are surprised but, you didn’t choose this…Did you put on this uniform thinking you wouldn’t be asked to kill?”

He removed Roy’s hand from his collar and stood up to look into Roy’s eyes.

Kimblee: “The worse thing than death is avert your eyes from it. Look straight into the eyes of the people you kill. Don’t take your eyes off from them for a second, and don’t ever forget them because I promise they won’t forget you”

The words from Kimblee’s mouth sent chills to Riza’s and Roy’s spine. Suddenly the bell rang

Kimblee: “Time for me to get back to work”

He left after saying that.

Maes: “I have got to head out too. See you later Roy”

He turned around and waved his hand to say goodbye but, Roy called him.

Roy: “Hughes…can you tell me why you fight?”

Maes: “It’s simple…I don’t wanna die…that’s the only reason…the reasons are always simple”

Maes left after saying that.

Riza stood up after Maes left.

Roy: “Riza…are you alright?” (He said calmly)

Riza: “Yes”

Roy: “Listen…I…I am so…”

Riza: “We can talk later Major…just don’t die out there”

She left after saying that and Roy watched her back with a worried face while she was leaving.

Roy: {You too…take care}

Soon the Ishvalan civil war ended, and in the process many lives were lost, many families were destroyed, and many innocents were killed. Those who were alive were happy, and there was guilt, which was never going to leave them, for they were involved in butchering rather than a war. Almost everyone was gone whereas Riza was burying someone.

Roy: “You coming back? You'll be left behind... Who's that? A war buddy?”

Riza: “No it's... It's an Ishvalan child... One left dead with nowhere to call home...” (Heavy tone)

Roy: “Let’s go... The war is over now” (stressed tone)

Riza: “The fighting maybe, but the nightmares of what we did in this place are far from over. They'll stay with me for as long as I live...I believed in you, trusted you with my father's research, and I applied to the military academy because I hoped to help other people. The way things turned out...it's not what I wanted, but there's no escaping the truth. I can never atone for the suffering I've caused...I have a favor to ask, Mustang. Please, burn this off... deface my back”

Roy: “How could I ever do something?”

Riza: “At least… I may not ever be able to atone, but at least I can destroy the secrets on my back. There can be no more flame alchemist… Can you do this? If so, please release me. I want you to set me free from my father’s burden. Please set me free from my father’s alchemy. I am begging you…”

There was sadness in the environment. Roy didn’t want to do this, he was shivering with discomfort, but on hearing Riza, he clenched his fist and replied, “Alright…I will leave as little traces as I can…”

Riza: “Thank you… thank you so much”

Riza placed some weed flowers from the ground on the grave of that child before leaving. When Roy and Riza went to the transportation area, they found out that everyone was gone.

Roy: “Guess, we have to walk or take a cart. Better we take a cart, otherwise we will miss the train”

They took a cart. The cart driver took them to the Ishvalan border and directed them to go straight for 12 miles to the nearest village and they could take a train from there. On the way, Roy and Riza decided to halt at a place which looked like a ruin, because it was already getting dark and there was wilderness before them, and the nearest village was 8 more miles. The ruin was of some old temple which was destroyed long time ago, it was surrounded with fungi and weeds, and the structure was covered with flora all over it. The place seemed like it was not visited by any human for a long time. The sun was almost set, so they gathered some woods and took out the food supply they had left during the war.

After having dinner, both of them sat before the fire.

Riza: “Roy…”

Roy: “Hmm..?”

Roy knew what was she going to ask, yet he acted as if she was going to say something different.

Riza: “Can you please do that here? It seems like this is an isolated place.”

There was silence for a while, one could clearly listen to the slowly moving leaves due to the breeze and the sound of flame burning the woods, Roy’s heart was pounding like a steam engine which was going to explode at no time. He gathered courage and replied to her.

Roy: “okay…” (Stressed tone)

She took out the first aid kit she had and took out her top. Her back was facing him and he was looking at the tattoo, he wanted to kiss her back like the last time he did. He wanted to hug her and never let her go, but this time they were different persons, the feeling of guilt was overpowering the love that once existed between them.

Roy: “Tell me when you’re ready”

She could clearly hear the pain in his voice. She took a piece of cloth and put it in her mouth.

Riza: “I am ready”

 He wore his gloves and snapped. A portion of the tattoo was burning, blisters appeared on her beautiful skin and finally the muscle tissue was visible, stench of human flesh was in the air. On watching that, he quickly grabbed the water and antiseptic solution and washed the burn to cool it.

Riza: “Please… go on” (she was panting)

He snapped once more and another small portion burnt off. He again washed the burns but, this time he felt like he couldn’t do it anymore, he had no courage left to keep going on.

Roy: “I think this would be enough… no one can recreate the formula out of this”

Riza: “I can still bear some more pain …” (She was panting)

Roy: “But I can’t”

Riza didn’t reply to that and there was silence for a moment. Sometime later she spoke…

Riza: “If you say it’s enough…then it should be…Thank you Roy…Thank you so much”

He was still facing her back but was facing down. He didn’t want to see what he did.

Roy: “I think we should put some bandages on the burns”

Riza: “Yes”

He helped her apply bandage and dress her up but, the pain from the burn was not gone. There was no painkiller or any proper medicine to apply to her burns.

Riza: “I think we should get to sleep” (stressed tone)

Roy: “Hmm…”

They took out their military sleeping bags and got to sleep. Riza was exhausted and within some minutes she was asleep while Roy couldn’t sleep, he was staring at the ceiling which was covered with flora. His mind was empty, so the memories of war started haunting him. 2 hours passed by and he was still awake while Riza was showing some signs of discomfort during her sleep; she was clearly in pain and having a nightmare at that time.

**(Nightmare sequence)**

An Ishvalan woman was running with explosives attached to her waist toward a group of soldiers who were resting on the ground, not knowing about the danger approaching them, and there was a child 6-7 year old who was running behind the woman. If she was going to kill the woman, the child might die, but if she wouldn’t kill the woman, the soldiers would die. The only constant was the woman, no matter what, she was sure to die. Riza had no choice but to save her comrades, so she shot the woman. The woman fell on the ground and the explosives attached to her exploded. There was dust all around, and then she saw all the soldiers were awake looking toward the blast area with surprise. She ran toward the dusty area to see if the child was alive. When she reached there, there were pieces of limbs and guts everywhere, it was definitely the woman. She searched for the child but, the dust was making it difficult. After sometime, the dust cleared and she saw a child was lying on the ground. She got closer to the child, it was a boy; his right hand was destroyed, his belly was wounded and blood was coming out of his mouth. He could barely speak, but with all his might he was saying, “Help me….please help me….I want to live”. Riza wanted to help him but, that child was beyond help, no medical team was nearby. Riza tore a piece of cloth from her uniform and tried to stop the bleeding; she held the child and rested his head on her lap. The child was crying and murmuring something, the sound was very low and was not audible so, she closed in her ears to his mouth. The child was repeating the same word again and again, “WHY?” And with each repetition the sound was fading and after a few repetitions, the murmuring stopped. She looked at the boy, his eyes were still, his body was cold, and there was no pulse. She was holding the boy while tears were falling from her eyes. Sometime later, a soldier came to her and informed her that the war was over and they won. Next thing, she was digging a grave for that boy, she gently put the boy in that grave, and she halted for a moment to stop her crying when she heard a voice, “mama…mama”.  She opened her eyes and saw her son in the grave, his right hand was destroyed, his belly was bleeding, and he was spitting blood. He was crying and shouting, “Why...Why mama why?” She was terrified and sweating a lot, it was the worst nightmare she could ever have. She couldn’t hold her emotions and shouted in a terrified voice, “OLI”.

She woke up and saw Roy staring at her.

Roy: “I guess you had a bad dream”

Riza nodded.

Roy: “Ishval?”

Riza: “Yes”

Suddenly a voice interrupted them…

Anonymous: “Are you two soldiers?”

They looked toward the direction from where the voice was coming. They saw a young man in his late-twenties, golden hair, and fair complexion was sitting on a fallen part of that temple…

Dummy: “Excuse me, where my manners… My name is Dummy. I know you weren’t expecting me but, I wasn’t expecting you either”

They were speechless and staring at him.

Dummy: “Am I looking weird” (He stood up and started walking toward them)

Upon watching that Roy put his gloves on and Riza grabbed her rifle.

Roy: “Stop right there or else I will make you toast” (threatening tone)

Dummy: “What! If I were to hurt you I could have done it while you were sleeping…I came here because I sensed alchemy”

Roy: “What do you mean you sensed? My alchemy generated only small spark and I don’t think anyone can comprehend it as alchemy from distant…Were you here all along?”

Dummy: “I can sense it Mr. Soldier, just believe me”

Riza: “So, why are you here?”

Dummy: “I should be the one asking you that question because I have been coming to this place from quite a long time”

Riza: “It seems like people don’t come here very often so, why do you?”

Dummy: “Some memories bring me here”

Dummy noticed the bandage on Riza’s body and saw that she was sweating.

Dummy: “It seems like you are in pain, let me help you”

He was closing in to Riza but, Roy stopped him.

Roy: “Don’t come near her”

Dummy noticed burns on her skin.

Dummy: “I am pretty sure, you were the one who burnt her…and the one who put these bandages…what an odd couple you are”

Riza: “That’s none of your business”

Dummy: “Sure it isn’t…Well take this, it will ease your pain and help you sleep”

He handed a small bottle with potion in it. Riza initially hesitated but she took it.

Dummy: “Guess, I should go now”

He turned around and started leaving. Roy and Riza were confused whether he was helping them or trying to take their advantage.

Dummy: “If I wanted to kill you, I could have done it already” (He shouted while leaving)

After saying that he left the monument waving his hand.

Roy: “What a weirdo”

Riza: “I think he was telling the truth…he was trying to help me”

Roy looked at the small bottle…

Roy: “Please don’t drink that” (He requested)

Riza saw his face, he was concerned.

Riza: “Fine” (She smiled)

She lied down to sleep and Roy was still sitting there.

Roy: “Hey Riza…”

Riza: “Hmm?”

Roy: “Do you remember the things I told you when we were standing in front of your father’s grave?”

Riza: “Yes”

Roy: “Do you still believe in me… that I can still make this country a better place, so that things like Ishval don’t happen again?”

Riza: “I always believed in that Roy Mustang”

Roy looked at her and smiled.

Riza: “So how are you going to do that…rule this country?” (She joked)

Roy: “You are right (Riza looked at him surprisingly)…. But, once I become the Fuehrer, I am going to make this country a democracy”

Riza: “You do know what does that mean right?”

Roy: “I am well aware of that… Instead of war heroes, we will be considered mass murderers and will be put to trial. Riza… you were right…we cannot atone for what we did…. But, we owe this country this much at least”

Riza looked at him, he seemed focused, he had a dream to achieve, this was the only thing they could do for redemption. She looked directly into his eyes and smiled, and he saw hope in her eyes.

Roy: “Riza…I want to ask you something. I hoped that you would be leading a happy life but, I found you at Ishval, the worst place I could ever imagine at the worst time. I can’t change the things that have happened. I know we had a past together, and I don’t expect you to love me anymore after what I did to you…but, can you at least be by my side and help me make this country what we dreamt of? Can you please walk with me in this path?”

Riza was in pain but, she forgot that pain for a moment.

Riza: “I will walk with you Roy Mustang”

Sometime passed, Riza was staring at the ceiling lying in her sleeping bag, while Roy was sitting on guard, and out of nowhere he asked Riza…

Roy: “By the way…who is Oli? Is he someone you care about?”

Riza: “Yes he is. He is very precious to me”

Roy smiled

Roy: “I am happy for you Riza. I really am”

Riza: “Go to sleep Major” (Annoyed tone)

Roy: “I am on guard …you can sleep”

Riza didn’t respond to that and got to sleep.

Next morning they arrived at the nearest railway station. They saw while entering that there were many soldiers waiting at the station. They went inside the station to wait for the train like everyone else there. Suddenly, they heard a familiar voice,

Maes: “My doubt was correct...you two are not just friends”

They turned around and saw Maes was standing there.

Riza: “What are you talking about Captain Huges?”

Maes: “Tell me Ms. Hawkeye…you know Roy from how many years?”

She didn’t think to hide that.

Riza: “I know him from when I was 12 years old”

Maes: “childhood love…how cute” (excited tone)

Roy: “Stop it Maes. You have the right to torment me, not her” (Exhausted tone)

Maes noticed his eyes which were exhausted and wanted to take some rest.

Maes: “Looks like you didn’t sleep last night” (Concerned tone)

Riza interfered.

Riza: “He was on guard last night”

Maes: “Guarding?” (Curious tone)

Riza: “I was wounded so, he was guarding me while I was sleeping. I requested him not to but, he didn’t listen to me”

Maes: “You are his oldest friend after all. I would have also done the same if I were him. But, he never told me about you, until we met at the war”

Roy entered in their conversation

Roy: “Because I learnt alchemy from her father and left her alone when her father died. I never even wrote her a letter about how she was (He chuckled in a guilty way)….I am lucky that she still considers me a friend”

Riza knew that he was feeling guilty but, she never knew that he would say something like that in front someone else. Maes also understood, not to say anything to his friend. Suddenly, the horn of train echoed through the station and within a few minutes, the train arrived at the station. Riza was going for the ladies coach when Maes asked her,

Maes: “So, where will you go?”

Riza: “Home…I will have to change train at East City…Meet you later then, Captain Hughes, Major Mustang”

She saluted both of them.

Maes: “See you soon Hawkeye”

Roy saluted her and nodded his head. Riza left after that and, Roy and Maes took their seats in their coach.

Roy: “So, why so many soldiers were waiting today? Did something happened to the second train yesterday?”

Maes: “Yes, it was stuck due to a landslide…By the way, I sent some soldiers and a vehicle when I reached the station, to pick you and Riza but, they didn’t find you”

Roy: “That’s because, we took a shortcut”

Maes: “I see…well Roy…do you know you are very bad at hiding your feelings?”

Roy: “Why do you think so?”

Maes: “After how much time did you see her?”

Roy: “Can you please stop with that already?” (Annoyed tone)

Maes: “Just answer me Roy” (Serious tone)

Roy: “More than 3 years”

Maes: “I saw your eyes when you were looking at her when you first saw her at the war…You were worried about her, didn’t you?”

Roy: “She is only 20 Maes and she was forced to join the war…I never wanted her to join the military but, she joined, and maybe I was the reason for that. I told her that, military is the most noble profession one can ever have…what do you think Maes? Should I have been happy watching her? I couldn’t see a smile on her face…her hands were stained with blood, just like you and me and I blame myself for all of that” (stressed tone)

Maes looked at Roy. Roy was in agony because of that conversation so, he decided not to talk on that subject anymore. He paused for few minutes and then he asked Roy a question which he knew would annoy Roy but, take his mind off from whatever bad memories he was remembering.

Maes: “Hey Roy, do you want me to read you a lovely letter that Gracia sent to me? I never read this to you” (Excited tone)

Roy: “No Maes…Don’t you dare read that to me. I have already heard a lot of those letters”

Maes: “This will be the last one”

Roy: “No Maes, I need to sleep, I don’t want to listen to your love talks”

Even after requesting a lot, Maes didn’t listen to him and read the letter to him and, after that he again started another letter. He made sure that, his friend doesn’t dive into the bad memories during the long journey. After long hours of travel, they reached Central City. The family members, friends and loved ones of the soldiers were in the station to receive them. Everyone was happy who returned home safe but, some families were also there who came to the station even after knowing that, the person for whom they were waiting was never going to return.

Maes: “She said in her letter that she was going to pick me up from the train station”

Suddenly both of them heard a woman’s voice,

Gracia: “Maes” (excited tone)

Both of them looked toward the direction from where the voice was coming, there was woman standing there. She looked at Maes and Maes looked at her, both of them got emotional and gave into the moment. There was no need to contain their love in the letters anymore; Maes ran toward Gracia shouting  “Gracia…GRACIA” letting all his emotions flow at that moment, and hugged her with so much love as if it was the last time he was going to hug her. Roy watched his friend uniting with the woman he loved which he could not do. He remembered what Maes said during the war, “I will swallow all the horrible things I have done here…I will smile when I am with her”. A man cannot accomplish all his dreams, some dreams remains just dreams after all. Roy looked at his hands remembering all the horrible things he did at Ishval, he was remembering the night when he hurt her.

Roy: {Hughes…you are a strong man…much stronger man than I will ever be}

He left the station alone because no one was there to receive him, not a family member, not a friend and certainly not someone he loved.

One the other side, Riza reached her home too, where Matilda and Oliver were waiting for her. Matilda was very happy that she returned safe. Oliver who was now around two and a half year old came running toward his mother even though she was away from him for a long time. Riza upon seeing Oliver picked him up and kissed him.

Riza: “How is my tough guy?”

Matilda: “You are looking exhausted”

Riza: “I couldn’t sleep properly last night”

Matilda: “Should I prepare some food or you want to take some rest?”

Riza: “I was away too long. So, first I will play with my baby boy”

Riza put Oliver on the sofa and started tickling him, and Oliver started laughing…

Matilda: “Have fun then”

She spent time with her son to her heart’s content. After having dinner she lulled Oliver to sleep, and after she put him on bed, she went out and sat on the stairs of the veranda looking toward the moon. After some moment, Matilda joined her; she sat beside her on the stairs.

Matilda: “I thought you were tired”

Riza: “I couldn’t sleep… whenever I close my eyes, I see people dying, children crying, guts and blood everywhere”

Matilda: “War has always been like that, kill or be killed, and in my opinion you choose the correct option”

Riza: “Have you ever felt someone taking his last breath in your arms, Ms. Becker? It is quite painful...You may think I came back from war alive and well but, the girl you once knew, died there, the person came back is a killer”

Matilda: “Stop blaming yourself, you had no option”

Riza: “Ms. Becker…Can you do me a favor?”

Matilda: “What?”

Riza: “I am going to East City and I want you to take care of Oliver from now on?”

Matilda: “You sure are a complicated girl. I thought you were going to take Oli with you…May I know who is your commanding officer?”

Riza: “Roy Mustang”

Matilda: “WHAT?” (She spat all the coffee in her mouth)

Riza: “Ms. Becker, he has been through a lot. I saw his eyes when I met him, they were filled with pain and suffering. Right now, he needs people who he can trust and there are not many”

Matilda: “Are you out of your mind? After all the things he did to you, you are still going to help him? Are you under some kind of spell of him?”

Riza: “He never betrayed me, he just wanted me to be safe and lead a happy life…I fell in love with that man, who wanted to protect his loved ones and make this country a better place, he is still that man…Everything that happened in Ishval was because of the order of a single person…I had to kill the people whom I was supposed to save, only because of that single man wanted it…”

Matilda: “So, you are ready to leave Oliver for Roy?”

Riza: “I am never going to leave Oli, Ms. Becker. I just don’t want to endanger him…also if anyone finds out that Oli is Roy’s and mine son, I can’t work under Roy”

Matilda: “I know this country needs to be saved…but, remember not to die in the process” (worried tone)

Riza: “I will try” (she smiled)


	9. Father and Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to see Roy's first interaction with Oliver during Matilda's (caretaker of Riza) funeral. In the present time, we meet the leader of IFF (Ishvalan Freedom Front), Thomas Maxwell who blackmails Roy in order to make Ishval a free country. Also, because of the recent tragic events, Roy and Riza are removed from the security responsibilities for Amestris-Xing meeting. Besides these story lines, we meet Lieutenant Colonel William J Barnes in Western Command, who is assigned to a murder case of a military personnel which links to Iapetus (the man who hypnotizes in Western area)

**[Selonova- Village in Drachma]**

When Boris and team learned the truth about the infamous chimera of Selonova village, it was too late. Maybe Louie (the chimera) started remembering her past, all the good and terrible things, and decided to accept her fate. After she died, the team tried to bury her, but the villagers did not allow them to bury her anywhere near the village. So, they took the dead body 5-6 miles away from the village and buried her at a place where there were some wild colorful flowers. After some time, when they finished burying her, the sun rose giving a splendid view. All three of them were standing in front of the grave…

Maria: “Life is so unfair sometime”

Boris: “Yes, it is, that’s how it keeps everything in balance”

Danny: “Let’s go, there is no time shed tears. We need to teach the king of this nation a lesson, so that no one in the future can dare to do something like this to any child”

Maria and Boris looked at Danny surprisingly and smiled…

Boris: “Ok, let’s go to Lab C, the lab that makes chimeras, and I am pretty sure that the lab is in Othon”

The team paid their final respect to Louie before leaving for Othon.

**[Western Command – Amestris]**

When Lieutenant Donovan (the person who was responsible for the inspection of the first Ishval city) did not show up at Western command, a search party was sent for him. But nobody knew, from where did he disappeared, so they started searching from the Ishval train station.  Lieutenant Colonel William J Barns (Appearance: nicely combed black hair, handlebar moustache, grey eyes, wearing round glasses, wearing the Amestrian army uniform, fat body, height near 6 feet) was assigned the case of Lieutenant Donovan  to investigate his disappearance. He was mostly famous for his detective skills in the Western region, and he mostly worked alone. After he was assigned Donovan’s case, he asked some soldiers to collect all the information about Donovan’s travel from Ishval to Western City. After the soldiers collected information, they made a report and sent it to Western Command. After the report was received by Western Command, they relayed the report to William. A soldier took the report to William’s office, where he was sitting on his chair doing some paperwork. The soldier first saluted William and gave the report to him, then he stood at a distance from Barns’ desk…

William: “Thank you, you may go now”

The soldier saluted William and left the office. After the soldier left, William opened the report which the soldier gave him. He had already interviewed the direct superiors of Donovan, his family and friends, but no one was able to provide him any leads, most of the people only knew that he was leading a team for the reconstruction of Ishval city, but only few of them knew that military was also in the process of restoring the old Ishval city. William found out this information after he talked to one of his superiors. While he was going through the report, he found one interesting thing there. There was a statement from one of the train staff, who said that Donovan ordered a sandwich and a coffee just after the train left Yeuc (a city closer to the border of Central Area and West Area), and when the train left Ayzchep (the first Western station), the staff came again to get the payment. But, Donovan was not in his compartment, even though his luggage was still there and even the half eaten sandwich and half-drunk coffee was still there…

William: “Finally a lead….looks like he disappeared at Ayzchep. Now, I just have to go through his luggage and pay a visit to Ayzchep”

William went to the evidence room in the Western Command and looked for Donovan’s belongings. He searched everything in his luggage, but nothing significant was found. Then he searched for the report that Donovan had prepared on the reconstruction of Ishval city, but it was nowhere to be found. He asked the caretaker of the evidence room about the report, and he found that the report was about to be sent to Major General Volkmar. So, he quickly went to the document collection room and fortunately got the report before it could be sent to General Volkmar. While he was going through the report, he saw various images of Ishval city which was destroyed during the war, and then he found a separate section labelled as “Old Ishval”. He went through the images in that section where he saw photograph of ruins of a big temple which was partially covered with flora. There were various photographs of various sections of the temple. While he was browsing through the images, he saw one image where there was a tomb and a white flower was on it…

William: {That’s probably the whitest flower I have ever seen in my life}

He then continued his image browsing, and after going through the report he concluded that there was nothing in the report that had any relation to Donovan’s disappearance. After that, he left the document collection room for his office. While he was going toward his office, he saw a brunet lady officer was coming toward him. He quickly recognized her because she was the only state alchemist in West City, when she was close enough he stopped and greeted her…

William: “Hello Major Ingolfson”

Cecilia stopped and looked at him…

Cecilia: “Hello Colonel Barns”

William: “So, how are you doing?”

Cecilia: “I am doing fine Colonel, thank you for asking” (Replied with a blank face)

Cecilia was popular throughout the western command as the “Wooden Lady” because she never showed any emotion even if it was her birthday or if she was attending someone’s funeral, but no one ever dared to tell that in front of her.

William: “How was your trip to Wellesley?”

Cecilia: “It was good, now if you please excuse me, I have to be somewhere”

William: “Yeah, yeah, sure. Sorry to trouble you”

Cecilia: “It’s fine”

She left after saying that and went to the military library where someone was waiting for her. It was Iapetus AKA Big John, Cecilia was unable to identify him in the library because she knew that he always hypnotize people around him and show them whatever he sees fit. While Cecilia was waiting for a signal, a woman (in her 20s, black hair, wearing uniform) waved her hand and called Cecilia by her name. Cecilia understood it was Big John…

John: “Let’s go there, we can talk there”

John led Cecilia to one of the vacant areas of the library…

Cecilia: “Did you kill him?”

John understood she was referring to Donovan’s disappearance…

John: “I told you to stop, but you didn’t” (He grinned)

Cecilia: “There is someone put for investigating Donovan’s disappearance”

John: “Who is that person?”

Cecilia: “Lieutenant Colonel William J Barns”

John: “Nice selection, but I don’t think he can catch me…How can he find some person who doesn’t exist?” (He grinned)

Cecilia: “So, why did you want to meet me?”

John: “Do you know exactly what happened at Central Command?”

Cecilia: “Some Generals were arrested for plotting against Late Fuehrer Bradley, but I know that’s only a story for covering Bradley’s truth, and I also know that Father was somehow involved in this”

John: “Father is dead, do you know what does that mean?”

Cecilia: “What?”

John: “Now I can do whatever I fucking want, and you no more need to guard Lab 0”

Cecilia: “You were already doing whatever you wanted, but it’s good to know that I don’t have to look after Lab 0 anymore”

John looked at Cecilia raising his eyebrow

Cecilia: “If Father is dead, then doesn’t it mean that the other three pillars are also free?”

John: “Yes…by now Coeus would have also known about Father’s death”

John started laughing out loudly and stopped quickly…

John: “I forgot this is a library (He giggled)…girl, we can expect an attack from Drachma anytime now….and do you know what? This time Drachma is going to win by stomping Fort Briggs” (He grinned)

Cecilia: “Isn’t the Brigg’s wall impregnable?”

John: “Not anymore” (He smirked)

 

**[Flashback]**

One month passed since Ishval war ended, Roy was now promoted to colonel and was transferred to East City. He was sitting on his desk and was expecting someone. The door opened and someone entered his office, it was Riza. She saluted him, after a moment…

Roy: “So you have decided to take this path after all…even after what you went through in Ishval?”

Riza: “Yes sir… if the world truly operates on the principles of equivalent exchange, then we soldiers have plenty to give back. If this world is meant to prosper, then it is our duty to carry the bodies of the dead across the river of blood to their resting place”

Roy stood up and told her in a calm voice.

Roy: “From now on, I am assigning you to be my assistant. I feel like I can trust you to watch my back… although you understand what this means… you will be able to shoot me in the back as well. If I ever deviate from this path, then I want you to shoot me, and I trust you to do so. Do you accept my offer?”

Riza: “Of course I do Sir… I will follow you into hell if you ask me to”

Roy was remembering the instance when Riza told her that she will be by his side no matter what, and he replied her by saying that she should join the military. He was smiling inside think about the joke which he made at that time…

Roy: “You may go now”

She saluted him, turned back and walked toward the door. Before she opened the door, Roy called her

Roy: “Riza…”

She didn’t answer him for some seconds and turned around to face him.

Riza: “With all due respect Sir, I will appreciate if you can address me as your subordinate from now on, and not some girl you used to know” (stoic tone)

Roy looked into her eyes, those were not the eyes of that shy girl he used to know, and she was not the same girl whom he saved once from bully boys. The tides of time had changed her, she was stronger, resilient and an independent woman now. Roy smiled…

Roy: “Fine… If I not calling you by your first name gives you any satisfaction, then I won’t call you by that name anymore. But remember…the war might have taken away some part of me, but I am still the same person…and that same Roy is asking for forgiveness that he could not fulfill the promises he made”

Riza said nothing; she turned around and moved toward the door. Before leaving she greeted Roy.

Riza: “I might not have come here if I had held some grudge…See you tomorrow Colonel”

Roy’s anxiousness settled down…

Roy: “See you Lieutenant”

 

Six months passed, Roy’s team was fully functioning in Eastern city under the command of General Grumman. Riza was now promoted to First Lieutenant due to the vacancy created after Ishval war and also because was a war hero. Like most of the days, Roy’s team was at office doing some paperwork and Roy was sitting on his chair, staring the ceiling. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice.

Riza: “You should finish your paperwork, Colonel. If you keep slacking off like that, you might have to do overtime soon or you might have to do paperwork on holidays”

She was standing in front of his desk.

Roy: “Don’t worry Lieutenant, I will do it”

Riza: “Like you always do?” (Sarcastic tone)

Roy: “Anyways, do you want to tell me something?”

Riza: “Yes, I want to take leave for two days”

Roy sat properly on his chair, placed his hands with steeple fingers on the desk and looked at her.

Roy: “May I know the reason?” (Serious tone)

Riza: “I got to attend a funeral”

Roy: “Whose?” (Curious tone)

Riza took a deep breath.

Riza: “Ms. Becker’s”

Roy: “WHAT? Ms. Becker died? Then I also need to go there”

Riza: “It might create a problem if we both go to the same place for personal reasons, Sir”

Roy: “Then we will go there officially…I still owe her some debt after all….she was one of the people who had a great impact on my life”

She sighed…

Riza: “Fine. Meet me at the station at 6 AM tomorrow or I will leave alone”

Roy: “Roger that”

Next morning Riza reached the station at 6 AM and searched for Roy but, she couldn’t find him.

Riza: {Thank God, he didn’t come}

She reached to the door to board the train, and suddenly she heard a familiar voice.

Roy: “What took you so long?” (He said while lending a hand to her standing at the entrance)

Riza looked at him and entered inside without taking his help.

Riza: “Don’t tease me Colonel”

They walked inside their compartment, closed the door and took their seats facing each other. Both of them were in uniform…

Roy: “So, who informed you about her death?”

Riza: “General Grumman told me, didn’t he tell you anything?”

Roy: “No, he must have thought you’ll tell me”

Riza: “That may have been the case”

Roy: “Meanwhile, I can also meet that Oliver guy”

Riza: “Why do you want to meet him so bad?”

Roy: “I just want to know if he is the right person for you”

Riza: “Colonel, the relationship between me and Oliver is not like what you think”

Roy: “I just want to make sure that if he is not some guy taking advantage of beautiful women”

Riza: “Are you trying to flirt with me? Because if you are, then let me remind you, you gave me permission to shoot you if you diverge from your path”

Roy started running finger through his hair while laughing out of fear.

Roy: “You know I would never do that” (nervous tone)

Riza: “Col...”

Suddenly someone opened the door and entered there compartment.

Anonymous: “Hello”

After that, there was silence in the compartment. Sometime later, Riza started reading some book, Roy slept and that stranger, who wanted talk to them, didn’t do so after watching both of them. After some hours, the train arrived at the destination. Riza and Roy got out of the train.

Roy: “It feels good to be back”

Riza: “Like always, there’s no cart or wagon. Guess we have to walk”

Roy: “Ms. Becker’s home is nearly 2 miles away from here if I am not wrong”

Riza: “Yes”

Roy: “Walking won’t be a problem then”

Riza’s hometown was a very less crowded place; even the road where both were walking was almost vacant. While walking, Roy noticed that Riza was a bit uncomfortable, so he asked…

Roy: “Is something wrong Lieutenant?”

Riza: “No Sir”

Roy: “You can tell me if something is bothering you, you know?”

Riza: “As I told you, I am fine Sir”

Through the whole way, they didn’t talk to each other, which seemed out of place for Roy because usually she talked to him during a walk or a long journey. When they reached their destination, Riza knocked at the door. After a moment, a woman (Appearance: brown long hair with a small braid, well-toned physique, height around 5.5 feet, in her mid-thirties, wearing a long frock) opened the door…

Woman: “May I help you?”

Roy: “Hello Ma’am, I am Colonel Roy Mustang and this is my sub-ordinate, Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye from East City, we were very close friends to Ms. Becker”

Woman: “I am Anna Becker, Please come in. Mother was remembering you both before she died”

Both entered inside the house and sat on the sofa. There were four to five other people in the house who knew Matilda, but didn’t know much about Riza. They were aware that Matilda used to work in Hawkeye residence, but they didn’t know much about Riza other than that it was her hometown.

Roy: “We were shocked when we found out that she died. What happened?”

Anna: “2 weeks back she suddenly started getting weak, she called me by saying that she wanted to meet me very urgently. When I came here, I found that she was weaker than ever, she was able to walk and do the regular chores but, she was getting exhausted quickly. She became weaker and weaker gradually, even the doctor couldn’t find out the reason”

Riza: “Sorry, if we had known about her condition, we would have been here”

Anna: “I know”

Riza: “Ms. Becker told us about you many times, but it’s the first time we are meeting you”

Anna: “Mother and I used to talk very less…she thought you more as a daughter than me”

Roy: “Did she tell you anything about me?”

Anna: “She was very angry with you, I don’t know why but she told me to punch you on your face” (Laughing tone)

Roy smirked when he heard that. Suddenly, someone called Anna…

Anna: “Excuse me for a moment”

Roy: “Sure, take your time”

Anna left them. Roy rested on the sofa, and Riza stood up and got inside an open room, when she got inside the room she saw Oliver sleeping on a bed. Watching that, she got closer to her son, and started moving her hand over her son’s head affectionately while he was sleeping. Because of this, Oliver started opening his eyes slowly and found his mother in front of him smiling at him. With drowsy eyes, he opened up his arms to reach out to his mother, and with very low voice he said, “Mama”. Riza picked up her son gently on her arm…

Riza: “Sorry baby, this time I took a bit long to come back” (She whispered in her son’s ear)

When she turned around she found Roy was standing there, looking at her confusingly. Riza was nervous when she saw Roy in front of her, and by that time Oliver was awake, rubbing his eyes and yawning. When Oliver saw Roy looking at him, he also started looking at him curiously…

Roy: “Who is this kid? And why is he looking a lot like me?”

Riza: “Colonel, can we talk somewhere private?”

Roy locked the room from inside and came closer to Riza…

Roy: “Tell me”

Riza sighed and looked at Roy…

Riza: “This is Oliver”

Roy: “WHAT? This is Oliver?”

Riza: “He…he is 3 years old. Ms. Becker used to take care of him when I was not around”

Riza started getting nervous more and more, her heartbeat started to increase at very fast rate, and she wasn’t able to look into his eyes. Roy linked all the clues from Ishval to the time when she came to her hometown at least once a week, and he asked the only question which popped up in his head…

Roy: “Is he our son?”

Riza: “I…I…wanted”

Before Riza could complete her sentence, Roy understood that Oliver was indeed his and hers blood. He quickly got near Riza and Oliver, and hugged them. Riza wasn’t expecting that, she thought Roy would ask a lot of questions, she wasn’t sure whether he was going to accept Oliver or not. But, when he learnt the truth, he didn’t ask a single question. That moment was very heart warming, Riza couldn’t hold down her tears, and tears started dropping from her eyes on to Roy’s chest…

Roy: “Sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me the most…Thank you for making my world bigger”

Suddenly, Roy felt some push from tiny hands. When he looked, he found Oliver was pushing him away from his mother. Roy smiled looking at his son and stepped back…

Roy: “Don’t worry buddy, she still loves you more than me”

Riza wiped her tears…

Riza: “Let’s go outside, Anna must be searching for us by now”

All of them got out of the room, and found Anna coming toward them. When Anna reached near them…

Anna: “Looks like you found your son”

Roy: “Yes (He smiled), I hope he didn’t bother you much”

Anna: “No, I run an orphanage in Tobha (a small town in South Area), so it’s not much of a problem for me” (She smiled)

Roy: “Thank you for taking care of Oliver”

Anna: “It’s nothing…by the way, can I ask you a question Mr. Mustang?”

Roy: “Sure”

Anna: “Does the military allows married couples work together?”

Before Roy could say anything, Riza interrupted…

Riza: “I think you had some misunderstanding Ms. Becker, we aren’t married”

Anna: “Then Oliver…” (Confused tone)

Riza: “Oliver is Colonel’s son…Colonel comes here whenever he gets some free time, so that he can spend time with his son, and because I am Colonel’s aide, I also has to come with him. That’s how Oliver grew fond of me, and sometime likes to call me mama”

Anna: “Isn’t there any one in East City to look after Oliver?”

Riza: “Our job is dangerous as you know, so keeping Oliver at East City under some nanny’s protection is not a good option, that’s why Colonel decided to keep Oliver here as he knew Ms. Becker through me”

Anna: “I can understand…my husband was also a soldier…he died in the Ishval war” (sad tone)

Riza: “Sorry for your loss” (empathizing tone)

Anna: “Where is Oliver’s mother then?”

Riza: “Colonel doesn’t like to talk about her”

Anna: “Oh, I am sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

Roy: “It’s okay Ms. Becker”

Roy understood why Riza was doing that, Oliver was very much looking like Roy so, maintaining a lie that Oliver was only his son was easy. This way they could be safe from fraternization rules, and Riza could remain his subordinate, also she could come along with Roy to meet Oliver because she was his aide due to which nobody would doubt.

At the afternoon, the funeral happened. Roy and Riza changed up their clothes to civilian clothes, because they couldn’t attend a civilian’s funeral in military uniform. After the funeral was over, Anna, Roy, Riza and Oliver were the only people left there. Oliver was picking some weed flowers from the ground

Anna: “Let’s go home, I will prepare you something to eat”

Roy: “No, its fine, we have some work at the market”

Anna: “Fine, meet you later then”

Anna left for the house after saying that.

Roy and Riza were standing in front of Matilda’s grave and Oliver was standing in between them. Then Oliver put the weed flowers he gathered from the ground and put it on Matilda’s grave. His parents got surprised when they saw their son’s activity.

Roy: “Where did he learn that?”

Riza: “I don’t know!”

Roy: “I think he picked up this activity from my side. Like father like son, you know?”

Hearing him, Riza gave a questioning look to him.

Roy: “What? I am a respectful person”

Riza: “Fine” (fake agreeing with Roy)

Roy: “Let’s visit Master Hawkeye, hope he won’t haunt me like he used to when he was alive”

They visited Berthold Hawkeye’s grave and paid respect to him…

Roy: “How about we take some food from the market and visit the lake, it’s been a while”

Riza: “It’s better if we go to my house, if someone will recognize us without our uniform hanging out, we might face some problem”

Roy: “Come on, stop worrying for a moment. Would you? I need to talk with my son, and I am not going to have my first conversation with him in a haunted house.”

Riza: “What did you just say? How dare you call my house haunted?”

Roy: “Please, only this time…I don’t want this moment to get just wasted” (He requested)

Riza saw how desperate he was. She decided to let him be the old Roy that day.

Riza: “Fine. But, I have a condition”

Roy: “What?”

Riza: “You have to find a date for my friend, Rebecca”

Roy: “What kind of condition is that? You do well know that I don’t go along with that harpy”

Riza: “If you really want to do a picnic today then, that’s the price you will have to pay”

Roy: “Well, if you really want to help your friend then I know a person who is desperate to have a lady partner but, I doubt even he will agree to date a harpy. Anyways, I will find a way”

Roy had no option but to agree with Riza’s condition. They went to the town and bought some food, and went for the lake. They sat at their old place, under the shade of the black olive tree close to the lake. Roy was looking at the lake, and Oliver was sitting near his mother who was cutting apples…

Roy: “So you named him after this tree?”

Riza: “Yes”

Roy: “You surely love this unusual tree”

While Riza was cutting apples, Oliver was clinging on to her…

Riza: “Can you take him for a moment?”

Roy looked toward her…

Roy: “Su...Sure” (Hesitant tone)

Roy was nervous and figuring out how he should approach his son for the first time. Finally, he came up with an idea, he used alchemy and made a small wooden dog out of the broken branches lying there while Oliver was watching. Oliver got fascinated and ran toward Roy, took the toy and came back to his mother. Roy again tried to impress Oliver by making a small wooden tree and his plan worked. Oliver walked toward him and picked up the tree figurine and sat near him. He then made some more figurines out of the broken branches. Whenever Roy was making some figurine, Oliver was clapping his hand with joy and whenever Roy was finishing a figurine, Oliver shouted “more, more”. Riza was looking at them, smiling at the activities of the father and son duo. Watching that, an old man (in his 60s) came near them, he was holding a tripod and a camera.

Old man: “You are a very adorable family”

Roy and Riza noticed the old man.

Riza: “Thank you”

Old man: “So are you planning to teach alchemy to your son? “ (Looking at Roy)

Roy: “Well I am thinking when he is old enough I can teach him”

Hearing that, Riza gave him a glaring look.

Roy: “But, he should be the one to decide and not me”

Old man: “It’s been a while I saw an alchemist in our town”

Roy: “So you are a photographer?”

Old man: “Yes, It makes me feel good when I help people to keep some of their sweet memories”

Roy: “Can you please take a photo of my family?”

Old man: “Of course son, it will be my pleasure”

Riza was looking at Roy with a questioning face but, Roy ignored her. Riza understood that he won’t listen to her so, she went with the flow. The Old man set his tripod and camera. Roy and Riza stood up, while Oliver was busy with his new toys made by his father, so Riza persuaded him and carried him on her arms. Then she walked toward Roy who was smiling, when she reached near him she asked.

Riza: “Why are you smirking?”

Roy smiled and replied…

Roy: “Nothing…it’s just that you are not like yourself today”

Roy moved his right hand closer to Riza’s face and moved his finger through her short blonde hair and finished his movement by feeling her cheek by his palm.

Roy: {Damn… she is so beautiful}

Riza started blushing due to Roy’s action and Roy’s hand was still on her cheek. Suddenly, Oliver bit Roy’s thumb and ruined the moment between them. Roy groaned in pain, and succeeded in taking out his thumb from his son’s mouth somehow. Upon watching that, Riza and the old man laughed…

Old man: “it looks like your son is possessive about his mother” (while laughing)

Roy: “I guess, you are right”

Riza: “Shall we begin then?”

Old man: “sure”

The old man took their photo, their first family photo.

Time passed on; Oliver was growing very fast .Roy and Riza left him under the protection of Anna in Tobha, a small sub-urban area in the southern region, near the border of Eastern Region. It was not that hard for them to convince Anna as she could empathize with them.  With time, Oliver was also convinced that Riza was not his mother and that she was only a sub-ordinate of his father. The word “mama” which he used to call Riza when he was a toddler, changed to “ma’am” but, his love for her never changed. Riza was also happy that her son was safe from all wars and crimes and according to her, Oliver not knowing that she was her mother was just a small price.

 

**[Present day, Central City]**

Two days passed since Oliver’s funeral. The office was going as usual but, Roy and Riza were not talking like they used to, just professional talks and no fun, it was like there were two Riza Hawkeye working in the same office. Roy was also investigating his son’s death but, there was no good lead till then…

Roy: “Captain Falman”

Falman: “Yes Sir!”

Roy: “Any lead on that teacher?”

Falman: “No Sir, it is like he vanished somewhere…he left no clue before leaving the school”

In the meantime a soldier entered the office.

Soldier: “Pardon me General Mustang and Major Hawkeye”

Everyone looked at the soldier.

Roy: “What is it soldier?”

Soldier: “You two have been summoned by the Fuehrer and the Generals”

Roy: “Major Hawkeye, did we have a meeting today?”

Riza: “No Sir”

Roy: “Then it’s definitely about the damn fraternization law”

Roy sighed…

Roy: “Let’s go Major, I think it will be our last day working together” (Casual tone)

Everyone in the office watched both of them leave the office and follow the soldier. After reaching the meeting room in the Fuehrer’s office, the soldier opened the door and both of them entered the room. There were four person waiting for them – Fuehrer Grumman, Lieutenant General Olivier Armstrong of Northern Command, Lieutenant General Abingdon of Eastern Command (Appearance: bald at middle of head with black side hairs, bulky physique, height same as Roy, clean shaved, wearing glasses and military uniform) and Major General Fussen Lech of Southern Command (Appearance: white pompadour fade haircut, slim physique, more than 6 feet of height, light moustache and beard, wearing military uniform)…

Grumman: “Welcome General Mustang, Major Hawkeye. Have a seat”

Both of them took a seat around the oval table.

Grumman: “First of all, on behalf of everyone here, we are sorry for your loss”

Roy, Riza: “Thank you”

Grumman: “I know you two from your childhood. Riza is my granddaughter and you are like a son to me and you two have served this country well. Mustang, if you are worried about the fraternization law then don’t worry…Nobody is going to take away your subordinate from you” (He smiled)

Olivier: “Now, the real reason why we called you here is regarding the Amestris Xing meeting which is going to be held after 2 days”

Roy: “What’s the matter?”

Fuehrer: “We all have come into the conclusion that you two will be removed from the charge of security for our Xingese guests”

Roy: “Why?” (Anxious tone)

Olivier: “That’s because you recently lost your son, so it will be unsafe to make you in charge of security in such condition”

Roy: “May we know who’s going to take charge of security then?”

Olivier: “Major General Fussen Lech and Colonel Alex Louis Armstrong will take your place as security in charge”

Roy didn’t reply for a moment…

Roy: “I can understand, we are sorry…”

Grumman: “You don’t need to apologize, it was a very unfortunate event that happened…I never got to introduce myself to my grandson, I still regret that (empathizing tone)”

There was a silence for a moment, Grumman coughed to break the silence…

Grumman: “You may go now Major Hawkeye”

Riza saluted and left the room without saying a word. When she left, all General sat to have a meeting on some other issue. After an hour the meeting was over, Roy came to his office greeted everyone except Riza who had already left for home. He went to her table and opened her drawer, and he saw what he was afraid of. She left both her guns there. He took her guns and drove straight to the graveyard. As expected, he found Riza sitting in front of her son’s grave, crying to her hearts content and Hayate was sitting right beside his master quietly. Roy approached her and placed his hands over her shoulders. Riza looked at him with her wet eyes. Roy looked at her with his sad eyes and said…

Roy: “Let’s go”

Riza stood up, wiped her tears and went with Roy. Roy drove her and Hayate to her apartment. He walked her inside her house and prepared her bed while she was changing her clothes. She slept on the bed without talking to him and Roy didn’t bother to disturb her. He got out of her bedroom, but before leaving her house, he made sure to put her guns on her uniform, so that she wouldn’t forget them while coming for office. He left a card and placed a small flower vase with lilies in it which he bought that evening, on the dining table. There was something written on the card…

“Happy birthday. Like every time, I can only request you not to throw the vase when the flowers withers. I will be very happy to send you flowers every day if that doesn’t irritate you”

It was few hours early from midnight and, Riza’s birthday was entering with the next day, but he didn’t want to wake her up due to the recent circumstances. He greeted her while leaving,

Roy: “Goodnight Major and, happy birthday even though it is a bit early for that” (He smiled)

Then he looked at Hayate.

Roy: “Goodnight Hayate…take care of her like you always do” (He smiled)

Hayate barked with agreement. Roy patted his head and left, locking the door from outside with the extra key he had. Instead of going home, Roy drove to the Ishvalan war memorial which was made a month ago in memory of all the people who lost their lives during the Ishvalan civil war which included both the military and the rebels. When he arrived there, the park was empty, mostly because it was 9:00 PM. He went inside the park and walked to the center where the memorial was situated. When he reached there, he sat on a bench in front of the memorial. He was sitting there for thirty minutes thinking something, when someone approached him from behind, stood right beside him and asked…

Anonymous: “May I sit?”

Roy looked at him (Appearance: In his fifties, half of his hairs were white and half black, he had dark skin and scarlet eyes, wearing a navy blue kurta ,a white pajama and a light brown shawl over the kurta),  clearly the man was an Ishvalan…

Roy: “Sure”

The man sat beside Roy.

Roy: “There aren’t many Ishvalans in Central …and I was certainly not hoping to meet one at this time”

Anonymous: “I thought I was never going to meet you” (He was facing toward the memorabilia)

Roy looked surprisingly toward that man who was now sitting right beside him.

Roy: “Who are you?”

Anonymous: “It doesn’t matter who I am, the only thing matter is how can we benefit each other?”

Roy was confused about what the man was talking.

Anonymous: “Tell me Mustang…is this pillar enough to atone for all the terrible things you committed in Ishval?” (He said while looking at the memorial)

Roy looked toward the memorial and replied…

Roy: “No, nothing is enough for that”

Anonymous: “Tell me one more thing…You kill the whole family of a man and then ask him to forget all those things and live peacefully with you…Do you expect that a man can ever do that?”

Roy didn’t say anything…

Anonymous: “I take it as no then…You must have figured out by now that I am from Ishvalan Freedom Front”

Roy: “Yes”

Anonymous: “Then you also know that we want to be separated from Amestris and be a free country… We don’t want blood but, we won’t hesitate if we are not given what we deserve”

Roy: “Do you really think you represent every Ishvalan? The only thing you are doing is provoking the innocents with your radical thoughts”

In the meantime, Roy was able to put his ignition glove on his right hand…

Anonymous: “Think whatever you want but, you will help us in achieving our goal”

Roy: “And why would I do that?” (Looking at the man)

Anonymous: “Because you are one of the members of board of Generals and a very close person to the Fuehrer”

Roy: “That doesn’t mean I am going to help you”

Anonymous: “You might want to rethink that…look behind Mustang”

Roy turned looked behind and saw Oliver standing with an Ishvalan man (Rolan) who was holding him on gun point and Oliver’s mouth was covered with a piece of cloth. Roy got shocked and stood up to look his son…

Anonymous: “Don’t try to do anything stupid” (He was still sitting and looking at the memorial)

Anonymous: “Everyone thinks your son is dead but, only you know that he isn’t. Now you have to decide whether you want to help Ishval become an independent state or you want to see your son die for real this time?”

Roy: “YOU BASTARD”

He was angry and clenching his fist, he wanted to burn them with a snap but, he couldn’t…

Anonymous: “So… are you helping us now?”

Roy: “I AM NEVER GOING TO HELP YOU”

When he completed his sentence, he heard a gunshot and the next thing he saw was Oliver falling on the ground. Oliver’s head was covered in blood. Upon watching that, Roy ran toward his son and picked him up. There was a hole in Oliver’s head and he had no pulse; Roy was unable to speak, he was on his knees holding his son’s dead body.

Anonymous: “This trick never gets old, right? I mean how many times we kill this thing, you react like I have killed the real one”

Roy: “What do you mean?”

Anonymous: “I mean your son is still alive”

Roy: “But, how?”

Anonymous: “Do you know about the chimera experiments in Ishval?”

Roy: “Yes”

Anonymous: “Before experimenting on humans, the military did some experiments with only animals. The results were not so good but, they made some chimeras which were quite useful, these chimeras were called as Imitators. Imitators were kept in pitch black area because whenever they saw the first living thing, they physically transformed into that living thing, they could not copy the intellect, attributes or emotions but, there body was a perfect replica of that living thing and they could only transform once in their lifetime. These creatures were used in the Ishvalan war as fuel to the war, and no one ever found out…The dead body you saw at the alley was of an Imitator and the body you are holding right now is also of an Imitator… Your son is still alive Mustang…We are giving you two days to think about this, I hope you understand by then”

He stood up and started walking away from Roy…

Anonymous: “Don’t tell anyone about our meeting… by the way, my name is Thomas Maxwell, an Ishvalan man who out smarted you”

Anonymous: “And yes, I forgot to tell you something. Oliver cries at night…he wants to go home, but you know we can’t let him go. Hope you want to take back your son Mustang…Alive of course”

Rolan took the dead body from Roy.

Rolan: “Don’t worry Mr. Mustang, your son is safe and unharmed, he is a good boy…and please get rid of your coat, it is covered with blood if you haven’t seen…people may ask questions if they see you like this”

Rolan removed his coat and gave it to Roy.

Rolan: “Here…take mine”

Roy looked into Rolan’s eye.

Roy: “If anything happens to my son, I will personally bring hell into your lives, remember that” (His face was full of anger)

Rolan dropped the coat on the ground.

Rolan: “Goodnight Mr. Mustang”


	10. Unleashed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While travelling through the Great desert to reach Amestris, Ling and his company encounter a sandstorm due to which they had to take shelter in a cave. Out of curiosity, when they try to explore the cave, they discover something supernatural. On the other side in Western Area of Amestris, the dead body of the military officer who was killed by Iapetus was found. Meanwhile, In Central city, the base of Ishvalan Freedom Front (IFF) is attacked by a creature. Many Ishvalans die there and many escape the base in order to save their lives. And one of the heavily injured Ishvalan finds Roy and Riza on the way when he escaped from the base

**[The Great Desert]**

Ling and the team were on their way to Amestris for the first ever Amestris-Xing official meeting. Everyone was riding a horse. Yang was at the front, Yin was at the back, Lan Fan was at the left side, Mei and Xiao (Mei’s panda) were at the right side, and Ling was at the center with Hu Zemin….

Ling: “When are we going to reach Amestris?”

LF (Lan Fan): “Few more hours, young lord”

Ling: “I can’t believe I am going back to Amestris just after few months, and that also as royalty. Now, I will be fed all the delicious cuisines” (He started imagining with his mouth watering)

Mei: “I can also meet my prince, the handsome and kind alchemist, Alphonse Elric” (Dreamy tone)

Hu: “Are you talking about the Elric brothers?”

Mei: “Yes”

Hu: “Isn’t Edward Elric the youngest state alchemist?”

Mei nodded her head…

Hu: “But, you are yourself very good in alkahestry, aren’t you?”

Mei: “You can say that, I helped some Amestrians in the war” (Blushing)

Lan Fan and Ling looked at her with a questioning look, and Mei regretted what she just said…

Yin: “There was a war? I heard it was some terrorist group that entered the Central command, and killed the Fuehrer while he was travelling by train”

Ling: “Yeah, it was kind of a war, we helped defeating the terrorist group involved and catch the traitor Generals” (Hesitant tone)

Yin: “I see”

Yang: “My lord, you never told how you got the philosopher stone. I am sure, the government didn’t just handed it to you, and it must have been protected”

Ling told them the story which he told to everyone after bringing the philosopher stone…

Ling: “After the terrorist group entered inside central command, they were able to get their hands on one of the philosopher stones. But, before they could get out, they faced the Amestrian military and the infamous flame alchemist, Roy Mustang. They knew that they were outmatched, so they somehow held Mustang’s lady friend as hostage. Mei and I decided to sneak attack them as they were holding the philosopher stone, but our timing was a little off. We managed to separate the philosopher stone from the terrorists, but they were able to hurt the lady. Mei went to help the lady, to seal her wounds and went after the philosopher stone. That’s how we got the philosopher stone”

Yang: “So, it’s true, they can create philosopher’s stone”

Ling: “Yes, but it vaporizes after limited number of use”

Hu: “Is it true that it grants immortality?”

Ling: “No, it only grants an alchemist the power to perform human transmutation without any danger”

Yang: “So, one can bring back someone from the dead?”

Ling: “I think no, because we never encountered anything like that, even the state alchemists told us that it is impossible to bring back someone from dead even with the help of a philosophers stone. Although, we found some people whose soul was attached to an armor, still they were not immortal”

Suddenly, dusty wind started blowing. Yin looked back, and saw a dust storm was approaching toward them…

Yin: “We have to take shelter somewhere”

Ling: “Why?”

Yin: “Look back”

Everyone looked back and saw a huge storm coming toward them…

Ling: “I think you…are correct”

Yang tried to look for a shelter, and saw a cave at some distance…

Yang: “I think there is a cave there” (pointing toward the caves direction)

Everyone looked in that direction, and saw a cave…

Ling: “Okay, let’s go inside that cave”

Mei: “What about the horses?”

Yang: “We will think about them later, first let’s go to the cave”

They speed up the horses and reached near the cave. They were amazed that the cave was bigger than what they expected. All of them went inside the cave with their horses. After they were inside they tied their horses there, and lit up a torch…

Ling: “Looks like this cave is pretty big, how come we never saw this cave?”

LF: “We must have taken some other route”

Yang: “Even we never encountered this cave”

Ling: “Let’s go inside, and check what other secrets it holds”

LF: “Young lord, we don’t know what is in there, I think it will be good if we stay out here”

Ling: “Don’t worry Lan Fan, as long as you are with me, we can fight all the monsters in this world”

Lan Fan blushed…

Yin: “Woohooh, so you are into your bodyguard, young lord?” (Mocking tone)

Yang: “Let’s go inside”

Ling: “With pleasure”

Everyone went inside, Yang was holding the torch, and everyone was walking behind him. The path was without any humps and was covered with sand…

Yin: “She is the same age as yours, and she is protective when it comes to you. I think she will make a fine wife”

Lan Fan was feeling so embarrassed at that moment, that she was unable to say anything…

Mei: “What about you? Didn’t you kiss him that day?”

Yin: “It was just a kiss on the cheek, a sister or mother can also do that. Well if you think that I will be a good future queen then I am ready to marry young lord, but I don’t think he will be marrying someone so much older than him, even after my unparalleled beauty. Right young lord?”

Ling gulped, he was unable to reply to the strange talk going on there. Suddenly, Yang stopped walking and everyone stopped eventually…

Hu: “What happened?”

Yang: “The path has ended”

They saw the walls but there was nothing significant there…

Ling: “Looks like this cave do not hold any mysteries after all”

Yang: “The path”

Ling: “What about the path?”

Yang: “The path is too perfect for a normal cave”

Ling: “Now that you mentioned, it is weird for sure”

Yang: “Everyone close your eyes”

Ling: “What are you going to do?”

Yang: “Remove sand, and if you won’t close your eyes, it might get into your eyes”

When everyone closed their eyes, Yang pulled out his sword which had a transmutation circle on its handle, and pierced it through the sand to the floor and threw a dagger at some distance. Suddenly, sparks started appearing on his sword and all the sand below started getting accumulated at the daggers location. After he was finished, Mei and her panda started rolling on the floor, rubbing their eyes. Watching that, Yang sighed…

Yang: “I told you to close your eyes. Somebody help them please”

Lan Fan went to her to clear her eyes. In the meantime, everyone looked at the cleared floor and everyone was shocked at what they were watching. The floor was covered with lots of transmutation circle…

Hu: “Why are there so many transmutation circles doing in this cave?”

Yang: “Have a look over there” (Pointing toward the accumulated sand)

Everyone looked at the accumulated sand and saw some bones mixed up in the sand…

Mei: “Those are of animals, right?”

Yin: “We can’t be sure, those bones can also be of humans”

Mei and her panda gulped…

Yang: “Something terrible must have happened here, this place is nearer to Xerxes ruins. And everyone knows the story how Xerxes turned to ruins one day, nobody knows what happened there, how such an advanced nation got destroyed all of a sudden”

Suddenly a gust of wind came and extinguished the torch. Due to sudden darkness, Mei screamed…

Ling: “Stop screaming Mei, the torch will be lighted up in a moment”

Suddenly, Yang said something frightening…

Yang: “Are you guys sensing something? It’s very faint, but it suddenly appeared out of nowhere”

Yin: “Yes, it’s something inhuman”

Ling: “I am sensing it too”

Mei: “LIGHT UP THE TORCH” (Frightened tone)

Yang quickly lighted up the torch. As soon as he lighted up the torch, he saw a black dust particle near the flame.

Yang: “I think we are sensing this particle”

Suddenly everyone except, Hu and Xiao stood in defensive stance with their weapons outside as if something was going to attack them.

Hu: “What happened?” (Frightened tone)

Mei: “There are something lurking here”

Ling: “The chi is similar but I am sensing it from different positions”

Soon they saw some other black particles emerging from below the floor.

LF: “Let’s get out of here, this place doesn’t seem right”

Ling: “I can agree on this one, the storm might have gone by now”

Everyone went out of that place, rode their horses and continued their journey to Amestris.

**[Wellesley, West Area]**

A couple were climbing the cliff at the outskirt of Wellesley…

Woman: “How much more do we have to walk?”

Man: “Just a little more, we are almost there”

Woman: “Why are we even walking, we could have come here in some vehicle”

Man: “To feel the wilderness, honey”

When they reached their destination, they could see the entire city from there…

Man: “So, what do you think? Was it worth it?”

Woman: “No”

The man was looking at his wife, while she was walking toward the end of the cliff…

Man: “You could have lied at least, just to make me happy”

Woman: “For your information, our relationship is based on trust, not lies”

The man sighed. When the woman reached the end of the cliff, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she breathed in, she smelled something dead…

Woman: “ooh, what is that?” (Disgusted tone)

Man: “What happened?”

Woman: “It smells like something is dea..”

She couldn’t speak, her eyes widened when she saw below the cliff. She started breathing heavily, and then backed down screaming…

Man: “What is it?”

The man went to the end of the cliff and looked down, and he was shocked as well. It was Lieutenant Donovan’s body, lying midway on a rock few meters above the ground. Crows and Vultures had already eaten most of his flesh. Soon, this news reached the military, and a group of people came from the military to retrieve the dead body. After retrieving it, the body was sent to Western command by train due to the order received from Lieutenant Colonel William J. Barns (Detective for Donovan’s case).

When Donovan’s dead body arrived at Western city, it was taken to the hospital for post mortem. William was with the dead body from the railway station. Donovan’s body was somewhat recognizable due to some skin and flesh attached to his face, and he was confirmed to be dead. Now, William was in a difficult situation to convey the news to Donovan’s family who were living in Western city. He went to Donovan’s home in his uniform with Donovan’s belongings. When he reached there, which was an apartment, he knocked at the door, and after few moments, a girl around 13-14 years old, opened the door. Watching someone from the military, the girl became very happy…

Girl: “Is daddy here?” (Excited tone)

She looked outside but couldn’t find anyone except William, and listening to that, her mother rushed out quickly looking very happy, and all she saw was an unknown person from the military. Her smile quickly disappeared from her face when she couldn’t find her husband. She looked at William…

Woman: “Who are you?”

William introduced himself and he told the truth about Donovan’s death. As soon as she heard the news, she fell on her knees and started crying. Her daughter was trying to calm down her mother, but how could she calm someone if she was crying herself. The small family of Donovan couldn’t believe that the person they loved was no more. William handed over Donovan’s belongings to the girl, and stayed there for some time to give them some moral support.

 

**[Central Command]**

Everybody in Roy’s unit was done with their work and was getting ready to leave for home. Riza came to Roy’s desk to collect the paper works.

Roy: “Even after becoming General, I still have to do these paper works”

Riza: “I can’t help you with that even if I want to”

Roy: “It’s fine; you are doing more than enough”

While picking up the papers, she noticed something was bothering Roy, and he was trying to hide that feeling…

Riza: “What happened?”

Roy: “What?” (He was caught off guard)

Riza: “You heard me”

Roy: “Nothing…everything is fine”

Riza: “Don’t try to hide from me. You know very well that you can’t hide anything from me”

Roy took a deep breath.

Roy: “It’s just the IFF issue, it’s getting worse”

Riza: “I know but, there is something else bothering you”

Roy: “That’s all, there is nothing else” (Hesitant tone)

Riza: “Fine…feel free to share whenever you want to”

She left after saying that.

Roy: {Damn, she knows me so well}

As the office hour was over, Riza left for home. She always liked to walk home so, she left the HQ and began walking as usual on the footpath. There were less streetlight and it was night time but, it was not a problem for her. After walking some distance, she felt like someone was tailing her and she knew who he was.

Riza: “Why are you following me?”

Riza turned around.

Roy: “I thought of walking with you tonight. Sorry if I ruined your moment with loneliness”

Roy came more close to her, and both started walking beside each other…

Roy: “Why didn’t you bring Hayate with you today?”

Riza: “I forgot”

Roy: “And where are your guns?”

Riza checked her purse and everywhere she usually kept her guns but, there was nothing, not even the gun covers. Upon watching her disappointed in herself, Roy handed over two guns…

Roy: “Here…”

Riza looked at Roy’s hand. He was holding her guns which were covered inside gun cover which she usually hanged on her waist or inside her uniform.

Riza: “Thank you General”

She took the guns from him and hung them on either side of her waist.

Roy: “That is not like you…yesterday also, you forgot your guns…and why do you walk? Office has provided you a car you know?” (Concerned tone)

Riza started walking again, looking forward. Her hairs were loose, covering the part of her face where Roy was looking. She replied…

Riza: “Sorry General…”

Roy: “You know, it’s not safe wandering in streets without any protection”

Riza: “So are you still going to walk me home?” (Ignoring Roy’s concern)

Roy sighed hearing her reply.

Roy: “Yes”

Riza: “Why are you walking? You could have just brought your car and dropped me at home”

Roy: “Then it wouldn’t have given me enough time to spend with you”

Roy looked at Riza who was still looking forward. Roy didn’t notice at first but, it was not that hard for him to figure out that she was hiding the tears which were slipping from her eyes, moving through her cheeks and falling on the ground. So he stopped and held Riza’s hand. Riza stopped…

Roy: “It’s okay…you can throw all your sorrow, pain, anger at me and I promise, I will gladly accept them” (stressed tone)

Upon hearing those assuring words from Roy, she hugged him and started crying on his shoulders.

Riza: “I still remember the day he was born… his tiny hands were reaching out to my face even though his eyes were closed. If you had been there you could have also seen, how he was yawning (small laugh)… I think it’s our karma which took our son from us…we destroyed so many families at Ishval that it is our penance that we are unable to start a family together” (sobbing tone)

Roy desperately wanted to tell her that Oliver was alive but, he was afraid if someone was spying on him and, any wrong move could lead to his son’s death. He hugged her tightly and moved his hand over the back of her head to calm her down. Suddenly, both of them heard footsteps of someone approaching toward them. The sound of footsteps was getting louder and louder with time. Riza stopped crying and looked into the direction of the noise along with Roy. She took out her gun and Roy was ready with his gloves on. Soon, they saw an Ishvalan man running toward them. He was bleeding very badly and when he saw Roy and Riza in front of him, he started shouting, “HELP, HELP” and was running toward them. Watching the man approaching, Roy ordered Riza…

Roy: “I am keeping a watch on him, you look around us…I think it might be a trap”

Riza: “Copy”

Roy: “Stop right there, or I will burn you to ashes” (He ordered the man who was running toward them)

That man’s face and body was covered with blood, his clothes were shredded, his left arm was ripped apart and blood was dripping from there. After listening to Roy, he stopped around 10 meters away from him and said…

Ishvalan Man: “Help”

After saying that, he fainted. Watching his condition, Roy thought it might not be a trap and picked the bleeding man from the ground.

Roy: “Let’s take him to hospital”

They were lucky that there was a phone booth nearby, so Riza called Central command and asked them to come urgently with a car. The Ishvalan man was still bleeding badly so, Roy decided to stop his bleeding by cauterizing the ripped left arm wound. After sometime Falman reached there in a car and they took the man to hospital. Roy, Riza and Falman left the hospital after leaving the Ishvalan man there. Roy appointed some military guards to look after the Ishvalan and ordered them to inform him as soon as the man gains consciousness.

On the other side, Colonel Alex Armstrong (The Strong Arm Alchemist) was having dinner in his house with his family except General Olivier Armstrong. While they were eating, the phone rang, and a maid attended the call. She then came near the dining table…

Maid: “Master Alex, there is a call from the Central Command”

Alex stopped eating and went to attend the call. On the phone…

Alex: “Hello, Colonel Alex Armstrong speaking”

Lady: “Colonel Armstrong, there have been report of explosion at the goods station. Also, people are claiming that they saw a monster with glowing red eyes”

Alex: “I am reaching there within one hour, in the meantime tell the others to surround the area and interrogate some people”

Lady: “Roger that”

Alex hung up the phone, and went to his room to wear his uniform. When he was leaving, Philip Armstrong (Father of Alex) asked…

Philip: “Where are you going son at this time?”

Alex: “There is some work I need to attend to”

Philip: “When will you be returning?”

Alex: “I can’t say, father. Now, if you will excuse me”

He left after saying that and went to the goods station in his car.

 

**[3 hours earlier at an unknown warehouse at the outskirt of Central City]**

Oliver was locked inside a room. They had to tie his hands because he knew alchemy. Thomas (Leader of IFF) was sitting inside his room, reading newspaper when Rolan entered...

Rolan: “Thomas”

Thomas looked at Rolan

Thomas: “Come, have a seat”

Rolan sat on a chair

Thomas: “So, do you have any news?”

Rolan: “Yes…we found out who is Oliver’s mother, it’s Major Riza Hawkeye”

Rolan told him how he found out that. After listening to him Thomas spoke…

Thomas: “Hmmm…how amusing, they had been hiding their relationship for so long, and no one ever had a clue?”

Rolan: “So, are you going to tell him who his mother is?”

Thomas: “What do you think?”

Rolan: “It’s your call…after all it was your plan to kidnap that boy using his mother’s identity”

Thomas: “Are you questioning the way our plan was executed?”

Rolan: “No, I am just saying if it was your idea to lie about his mother, then it should be your responsibility to convey him the truth”

Thomas: “Fine”

Thomas stood up and picked up an apple on his table…

Thomas: “Now, if you will please excuse me, I have to deliver some news”

Thomas went to meet Oliver. He opened the room in which Oliver was sitting on his bed looking toward him…

Oliver: “When are you going to untie my hands?”

Thomas went near Oliver and untied his hands, and offered him the apple…

Oliver: “When are you letting me go to my home, Mr. Maxwell?”

Thomas: “Soon”

Oliver took the apple, and started peeling off its skin with his teeth and spitting on the floor, and eating the apple…

Oliver: “Did you meet my father?”

Thomas: “Yes, he was very much missing you….he even wanted to toast me, when I told him that I have kidnapped you”

Oliver: “Mr. Maxwell, is it necessary to hurt others to get what you need?”

Thomas chuckled…

Thomas: “Kid, you are way too small to understand the things going on…we were never like this, it’s the constant oppression for years which made us like this”

Oliver was busy eating the apple…

Thomas: “Anyways, I have a very good news to tell you. I…”

Before he could finish off his sentence, they heard gunshots firing outside. Oliver put the half eaten apple inside his pant pocket and he got out of the room along with Thomas to check what was happening. Rolan was also standing there with some other IFF soldiers…

Thomas: “What is happening?”

Rolan: “I don’t know, may be the military found us”

Thomas looked toward a woman soldier (Appearance: black long bun hair, well-toned physique, height around 5.6 feet, in her early thirties, some war scars on face, brown full pant, turtle neck black t-shirt, brown jacket) standing there and called her by her name…

Thomas: “Geeta”

Geeta: “Yes Sir”

Thomas: “Keep Oliver with you, and if the military passes us and comes here, you know what to do”

Geeta: “Yes Sir”

Thomas looked at Rolan…

Thomas: “Let’s go”

Both of them walked toward the direction from where the noises were coming. The warehouse had lots of turns and spacious places in it. They were reaching the place where the shooting was taking place, soon they saw two to three soldiers shooting something or someone, and suddenly another soldier flew toward the soldiers and hit the wall behind them. Thomas and Rolan were afraid and curious on what was happening, they wanted to know the reason how that soldier was thrown away with such a force. Thomas removed his shawl and dropped on the ground and pulled out his hand gun, Rolan also picked up his rifle and moved forward. When they were in the place where shooting was taking place, they looked in the direction where the soldiers were shooting, and saw a very horrifying scene. There was blood everywhere on the ground, severed limbs and dead bodies of soldiers were spread across the place, and other soldiers who were alive or in good condition were shooting at a creature who was ripping the place apart. It was looking like a humanoid which had four arms, but it was crawling using all of its hands and legs instead of walking like a normal humanoid. It was pitch black in color with glowing red eyes and on some portion of its body there were skin fragments. Those skin fragments were of its own as if the creature was trying to complete its body. It was almost 15 feet in length and 6 feet high when it was walking on all its limbs, still it was fast for its size. All the soldiers who were present there were shooting at the creature, but whenever the bullets were hurting the creature, the wounded area was again filled with some black smoke like particles and its body was healed….

Thomas: “What is this thing?”

A soldier who was standing near to him replied…

Soldier: “We don’t know, it suddenly broke through the main gate and started attacking us”

Suddenly, a severed hand fell near them…

Thomas: “Can it be hurt?”

Soldier: “We are able to hurt it, but it is healing very fast, also it doesn’t seem like it is made of flesh or bones”

Thomas: “Damn it” (Angry tone)

Rolan: “We have to do something fast, otherwise this whole place will be turned into a graveyard”

Thomas: “You (looking toward the soldier), take all the surviving soldiers with you and leave for Dublin, rest of us will meet you there”

After receiving the order from Rolan, the soldier took majority of the soldiers with him. Only ones who were left fighting the creature were Thomas, Rolan and three other IFF soldiers. All of them were shooting non-stop at the creature, but the shooting was only able to slow down it a little bit. Soon, Rolan’s rifle was out of bullet so, he grabbed big iron pipe from the scrap which was lying there, and charged toward the creature. He jumped at the creature and with all his might, he hit the creature with the iron pipe he was holding. The creature stumbled, and as soon as it fell on the ground, Rolan pushed the pipe through its body. Getting the chance, one of the soldier moved closer to the creature and started stabbing its head with the knife at the front end of his rifle…

Soldier: “Die you fucking monster…die” (Sobbing tone)

Soon the creature stopped moving and its eyes stopped glowing which surprised the soldier who was attacking. He stopped attacking it…

Soldier: “What? Is it really dead?”

Suddenly, the eyes again started glowing and the area where the creature was stabbed with the iron pipe enlarged to get rid of the pipe, and some black dust like particles appeared there. Same thing was happening in all wounded area of that creature. Watching the scene, everyone backed down to maintain some distance between them and the creature. Rolan pulled out his dagger…

Rolan: “Aim for its eyes so that it won’t see me while I attack it”

Soon the creature stood up with all its wound completely healed, and was glaring at them. Everyone started shooting at its eyes, and the creature was trying to block all the attacks with one hand. In the meantime, Thomas threw a grenade which blew off his front two hands. This gave them an opening to his eyes, and everyone started shooting at its eyes. Getting the opportunity, Rolan charged toward the creature with a dagger in one hand and a grenade in other hand. He jumped over the creature and penetrated his dagger on its neck and created an opening in its neck. Then he quickly dropped the grenade in the opening and jumped away from the creatures back. After few seconds, the grenade inside the creature’s back exploded and its head was shredded into pieces with half of its torso. The remaining half of the torso fell on the floor. Watching that one of the soldier jumped with happiness and shouted “Yes”…

Thomas: “Nicely done Rolan”

Rolan: “Hope it is dead this time”

Everyone was happy that the creature was dead this time, but that happiness was only for a short moment. Some black dust like particles started accumulating at the remaining part of the torso, and the creature was again fully healed within few seconds. It was again standing glaring at them and before it could charge, the three soldiers again started shooting at it. But, only after two three shots, they were out of bullets and there was no more bullet to reload. As soon as the firing stopped, the creature charged at the three soldiers and attacked one of the soldiers with its claw like hands. The soldier was cut into two pieces from the middle, and his upper body fell near Thomas and Rolan…

Rolan: “Thomas, you should go. I don’t think we can kill this monster, but if it kills you, then all of our dream will remain a dream”

Thomas looked toward Rolan and nodded…

Thomas: “I will be waiting for you at Dublin, don’t be late…old friend”

Thomas’ was looking toward his friend very sadly…

Rolan: “You don’t look good when you cry Thomas, now leave”

Thomas went toward the place where he left Oliver, and Rolan picked up another iron pipe from the scraps lying there and charged toward the creature. When Thomas reached the place where he left Oliver, he couldn’t find Oliver there. So he started shouting Oliver’s name, and he saw Geeta coming out of the meeting room along with Oliver…

Geeta: “Are you okay Sir?”

Thomas: “Yes”

Geeta: “What is happening out there?”

Oliver: “Is my dad doing all this?”

Thomas looked at Oliver…

Thomas: “Let’s get out of here through the back door”

Oliver: “I am sure my dad’s men must have surrounded this place, and they will catch you once you get out”

Thomas closed in to Oliver…

Thomas: “Sorry to disappoint you, but that is not your dad out there. A monster is killing off my men, and the interesting thing is that when it will be finished off with the soldiers out there, it will come here and shred us into pieces like it is doing out there. Now, junior Mustang, if you want to stay alive then cooperate and come with us” (annoyed tone)

Thomas, Geeta and Oliver moved toward the back door, and when Geeta tried to open it, it was not opening.

Thomas: “What happened?”

Geeta: “It’s not opening”

Thomas tried to open the door, but still the door was not opening…

Thomas: “Looks like the door is jammed (Grunting tone)”

In the mean they heard the creature roaring…

Geeta: “What was that?”

Thomas: “That’s the thing we are running from”

Oliver: “Do you have anything to draw on this door?”

Thomas: “Of course, you know alchemy…wait let me bring some chalks for you”

Thomas quickly ran inside the meeting room, grabbed some chalks and ran back to Oliver to give him the chalks. Oliver started drawing a transmutation circle on the door, and they suddenly heard some fast footsteps approaching toward them. Thomas picked up an iron rod lying on the floor, and Geeta pointed her rifle toward the direction from where the creature was coming. Soon the creature took the last turn and was standing few meters away from the group. Geeta paused watching that creature, so Thomas quickly pulled the gun from her and started shooting at the creature. But, this time the bullets were not even bothering the creature, it was charging toward them without even protecting itself from the bullets hitting it, because the wounds created by the bullets were healing at a much faster rate. Suddenly Thomas and Geeta heard the jammed door breaking, and with that assurance, Thomas turned around, picked up Oliver and got out of the door. Geeta was following behind them, but just when she got out of the door, the creature entered one of his hands through the door and caught Geeta’s leg. Thomas looked behind and saw Geeta being pulled in by the creature, but he knew he could do nothing to save her and kept on running. The creature was unable to get through the door, so it peeked through the door and saw Thomas and Oliver getting inside a black dented car. It got angrier and started smashing the walls, it took few minutes, but finally the creature was able to smash through the walls. As soon as it got out of the warehouse by breaking through the walls, it started running toward the direction where Thomas and Oliver were going, even though they were long gone.

Thomas was driving near the railway tracks, unknown from the fact that the creature was still following them. While travelling, they saw a goods train was being loaded with some goods to be transported at the goods station. Thomas quickly stopped the car, and both of them got out of the car. While getting out, the half-eaten apple dropped from Oliver’s pant pocket in the car. They ran toward the train and entered inside an empty carriage, but the train was yet to leave the station. After few minutes, they heard footsteps, they understood that the creature was near and the train didn’t seem like leaving the station any sooner…

Thomas: “What? Why is the creature following us?”

Thomas and Oliver got out of the carriage, and started moving toward the engine. While they were running toward the engine, the creature saw them and charged toward them. Thomas stopped…

Thomas: “Run kid, tell the driver to start the engine, and board the train as soon as the engine starts”

 Oliver ran toward the engine room on his own. Thomas pulled out his dagger and stood between the creature and Oliver, he was watching the creature charging toward him and he was holding a small dagger in front of it…

Thomas: “I never thought that I will be killed by some monster” (He smiled)

When the creature was very close to Thomas, Thomas charged toward it holding his dagger. The creature raised one hand and slapped away Thomas with back of its palm. Thomas flew away some distance and his head hit a cemented pole, his head started bleeding and he passed out. Creature then started chasing Oliver who was running toward the engine, Oliver was very much afraid, he didn’t want to look back. Suddenly, a grenade fell in front of the creature, and when the creature was moving just over the grenade, it exploded and destroyed creature’s four frontal limbs. The grenade was thrown by Geeta who was standing on the roof of the train holding a bag. The explosion created a disturbance in the station and some people came to look what was happening, the driver who was sitting in the engine room looked at the back of the train and saw Oliver was running toward him, and behind Oliver he saw the red glowing eyes and the healing limbs of the creature. When Oliver saw the driver he shouted, “Start the engine”. He kept on shouting the words. In the meantime, Rolan rushed toward Thomas and picked him up, and ran toward Oliver. (Rolan and Geeta didn’t die at the warehouse, they had few cuts on their body with torn up cloths) While the creature was healing itself, Geeta threw one more grenade below it which exploded and stopped the creature from healing up its limbs by blowing up the half healed limbs. Watching the explosions and the creature, people at the station panicked and the driver quickly started the engine. Hearing the engine sound, Rolan shouted…

Rolan: “BOARD THE TRAIN OLIVER”

Oliver who was running in front of Rolan, quickly got inside a carriage which was loaded with some goods. Rolan also got near the carriage and put Thomas inside that…

Rolan: “Take care of him”

Rolan then pulled out his dagger and stood at that position, looking toward the creature healing itself. Soon, Geeta got off from the train roof and threw away some cotton and bandages inside the carriage where Oliver and Thomas were. The train started moving slowly…

Geeta: “Oliver, put some cotton and bandages on Thomas’ head to stop the bleeding”

Oliver: “BUT, I DON’T KNOW HOW TO DO THAT”

Because the train was moving, the distance between Oliver and Geeta was increasing…

Geeta: “YOU ARE AN ALCHEMIST, YOU CAN FIGURE IT OUT”

After saying that, Geeta and Rolan charged toward the creature. Geeta had only one grenade left, and she was holding it. On the other hand she was holding a dagger. She first threw the grenade below the creature’s half healed limbs, destroying them once more. There fight with the creature gave the train enough time to leave the station at high speed. When the creature was fully healed up, it started chasing the train, ignoring Rolan and Geeta. Even though its speed was not on par with the train, it was still chasing the train.

 

**[After 3 hours of the incident at goods station]**

Colonel Armstrong was at the station, going through the summary of interrogations and incident area. A military officer reported him everything that happened at the station including the fight between the creature and IFF soldiers to the point where Oliver and Thomas got inside the train and the creature followed them. Only thing which was missing was the identity of all the people involved in the fight, they were speculating that the people were of IFF. Alex was under the impression that Oliver was dead so, it never occurred to him that the child could be him. Because Alex was in charge of the Amestris-Xing meeting, the incident mattered a lot to him. He along with two other soldiers searched the nearby areas, and at some distance from the station, besides the railway tracks, he found an abandoned black dented car.  He looked in the car, and found that the key was left inside the car…

Alex: “Looks like someone was in a hurry”

He looked toward the officers standing there…

Alex: “Take this car for inspection, and try to find out where this came from and to whom does it belong?”

Alex then saw a soldier running toward him, when the soldier reached near Alex, he saluted and spoke…

Soldier: “There was a call from central command…few moments ago, a badly injured Ishvalan man was admitted in the hospital”

Alex: “Hmmm…monsters, injured Ishvalans…looks like something terrible is happening which we are unaware of”

Alex left for the hospital where he met Roy and Riza coming out of the hospital, Roy’s coat was stained with blood. Alex stopped and saluted Roy…

Alex: “General”

Roy: “Hello Colonel Armstrong, I guess you are here for the injured Ishvalan?”

Alex: “Yes…what happened to you?”

Roy looked at his coat…

Roy: “Oh this? I got it when we brought the Ishvalan man”

Alex: “What? You brought him?”

Roy told Alex everything that happened…

Alex: “Before coming here, I went to the goods station. People are claiming that they saw some people were fighting a monster using grenades, but the monster didn’t die. And it chased the train where a boy 9-10 years old and an unconscious man boarded”

Riza: “An immortal monster? Sounds similar to the homunculi”

Alex: “Even I thought that for a moment, but how can they exist if Father is dead”

Riza: “We cannot rule out the possibility, after all Father was living under Central command for centuries, and we never knew…God knows what other mysteries he left behind”

Roy: “Colonel”

Alex: “Yes General?”

Roy: “Were the people fighting the monster, Ishvalans?” (Concerned tone)

Alex: “As of now we are unsure, but there is a high chance that they were from IFF”

Roy went on thinking something, and suddenly he got startled when Riza asked him something…

Riza: “Is something bothering you, General?”

Roy looked at Riza…

Roy: “No, nothing” (Hesitating tone)

Riza gave him a doubtful look…

Alex: “General Mustang, Major Hawkeye, I don’t want to get into your private matters, but as a friend I can only say that, whatever happened has happened, we cannot change whatever is done, the only thing we can do is live on because we are no god, we are just his creations”

Alex then realized that his words created a gloomy environment there, so he tried to lighten up the moment…

Alex: “Like I can show the love that has been passed down in the Armstrong family for generations”

He closed in to hug Roy and Riza, but before he could hug, he saw Riza’s glare and stopped himself from hugging them.

Riza: “Now if you will excuse us, Colonel”

Alex went inside the hospital, while Roy and Riza went home.


	11. Savior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the injured Ishvalan was admitted in hospital by Roy and Riza wakes up, Roy goes to interrogate him along with Riza. That interrogation shakes Riza when she finds out that Oliver is alive and Roy knew about that. Meanwhile, the Amestris-Xing meeting is only one day away and the guests from Xing have arrived in the Eastern Area. We also see Maria and Danny meet with the Amestrian spy in Drachma who is there from five years, and they make a plan to uncover some mysteries in Othon (Capital of Drachma). After that when Maria and others go to a bar to relax, they get into trouble with a gang present there, but fortunately Coeus (Introduced in 1st chapter, was among the three powerful people of Drachma planning to attack Amestris) is there, and we see a fight between Coeus and the gang.

**[Othon – Capital of Drachma]**

Boris and the team had reached Othon. Boris left Toby at an isolated part of the city where barely any human goes, and was being used as a waste dumping ground. The city was not populated like Amestris and on most night there was faint snow fall. Most of the buildings had gable roof with a chimney, and the road had tile like flourishing. When the team reached Othon, it was already evening and they didn’t have sleep last night because they were busy in chimera hunting at village Selonova. So, they rented a room and went sleeping. When they woke up, the sun was still not in the sky. Maria went to the window to have a look outside, and saw people were wandering in the city like day time. She looked toward Boris who was brushing his teeth near a wash basin, while Danny was still asleep…

Maria: “Why are you brushing your teeth, it’s not morning yet”

Boris: “It is technically morning time”

Maria: “But, the sun has not risen yet”

Boris: “Othon has six months of day and six months of night, and unfortunately for us the last day ended yesterday”

Maria: “Oh, I read about it in a book”

Boris: “Now, get ready…we are going to meet your Amestrian friend”

Maria: “What’s his name?”

Boris: “Looks like your General didn’t tell you everything…the person is not a he it’s a she, I don’t know her real name, but she goes by the name ‘Gabriela’… she is a maid at the palace”

Maria: “From how many years she is in Othon?”

Boris: “Probably 5 years…Now if you please wake him up, we can go meet her”

Maria: “Sure”

After sometime everyone got ready…

Danny: “So, where are we going?”

Boris: “To a cake shop, Gabriella comes there every day…most of the cakes for the guests at the palace are prepared in that shop”

Danny: “Doesn’t the cooks at the palace make cakes?”

Boris: “The shop is very old, it is serving the palace from generations…the first king of Drachma - Ivanov the first used to eat desserts at that place, especially cakes”

They left the hotel and went to the area where the cake shop was situated. When they reached near the shop, there was a fancy name sign board where it was written “Granny’s Cakes”. They entered inside the shop, it was huge and very busy. As soon as they entered the shop, a woman in her late twenties wearing the uniform of the shop which was a turtle neck sweater with skirts and long shocks, came to them…

Woman: “May I help you?”

Boris: “Yes, we would like to have a seat for three”

The woman took them to a private chamber where another woman (Appearance: Brunette mid shoulder length hair, in her early thirties, fair complexion, wearing red lipstick, big ring shaped earrings, brown turtle neck sweater, a fur coat over her sweater, and a brown skirt, well-toned physique, height same as Maria) was waiting for them. The first woman went back after that…

Boris: “Hello Gabriella”

Gabriella: “Hi Boris”

She looked at Maria and Danny…

Gabriella: “You must be Maria and Danny”

Maria: “Yes”

Gabriella: “Have a seat, and let’s straight get down to business”

Everyone took their seats around that semicircular table…

Gabriella: “Ivanov the first’s birthday will be celebrated after 15 days from now throughout the country, and on that day various artists come to the palace to perform and get rewards from the King. Because of that ceremony, the work increases and hence the palace requires more workers than normal. The palace is currently understaffed, so Maria can get a job there within few days. This way you can get some insights from the palace”

Maria: “Okay, but how do we get a job there?”

Gabriella: “The head of staff will come here today, you will go to him and try to convince him for a job. He is a very sympathetic guy, so make up some sad story to get employed”

Maria: “Right”

Gabriella: “As for you Danny, you will be accompanying Boris outside the palace for some clues”

Danny: “Roger that”

Maria: “Gabriella, can you tell us what other insights you gathered till now?”

Gabriella: “Sure…I have been tracking down the military activities throughout the city and meetings which take place in the palace. Recently, the number of chimeras in the military has increased. I am still unable to find where the chimeras are being created in Drachma, but that has something to do with Lab C, and that lab is somewhere in Othon, hidden on plain sight”

Everyone was shocked…

Boris: “Even we came across a chimera, and we got proof that they are definitely being created at Lab C”

Maria: “Are there alchemists in Drachma?”

Gabriella: “There are a few, but they are not as strong as the state alchemists of Amestris”

Maria: “Chimera creation is a human transmutation, so it cannot be done without a philosopher’s stone”

Gabriella: “What? Philosopher stone? Is that even a real thing?”

Maria: “Yes Gabriella, even we thought it to be just fictional, but it’s real. And unfortunately the process for creating a philosopher stone requires human souls”

Gabriella: “Do you mean like killing people?”

Danny: “Yes”

Gabriella: “Well I cannot assure you about philosopher stones, but chimeras are real thing in Drachma, and they are keep on increasing”

Boris: “Gabriella, do you happen to know about any train that picks up single people from certain remote locations”

Gabriella: “No, why do you ask?”

Danny: “Because the train which we took to Othon was doing just that, and we got off that train before we could get caught”

Gabriella: “That’s weird, all this time, I never heard or saw that train”

Boris: “Even that was the first time for me too”

Suddenly, the waitress who took them to that chamber, entered with three slices of carrot cake. She put the cakes on the table…

Waitress: “He is coming, you should leave Gabriella”

Gabriella quickly got off her seat…

Gabriella: “Danny, try to find the lab with Boris. I believe it is somewhere in this city”

Danny nodded his head, and Gabriella left after that. After sometime…

Maria: “It’s my turn to get a job now. I will meet you two at the bar which we saw on the way after three hours from now”

Boris: “Fine, and best of luck”

Maria: “Thank you”

Maria went to meet the head of staff, whereas Boris and Danny waited there for some time before leaving. The head of staff (Appearance: Gray hair with a bun, broad face, broad body, height around 6.3 feet, wearing winter wear with fur coat, in his fifties) was talking with the manager…

Head: “How is the preparation going on?”

Manager: “It is going as we planned, Sir…so, why did you bother to come here on your own? You could have just told me, I would have come to you”

Head: “No, its fine…sometimes it’s good to come out of the palace, and see the city around”

Manager: “Of course” (He smiled)

Head: “Actually I am here most obvious reason, as you know King’s day (Ivanov the first’s birthday) is coming, I need some people who can work at the palace for these 15-20 days”

Manager: “I can get you some people, just give me some time for that”

Head: “I know you will. Now can you bring me my favorite cake?”

Manager: “Sure…let me take you to your chamber, Sir”

Head: “No, its fine. I don’t need a private chamber, I will be seating out here “

Manager: “As you wish”

He smiled and went back to the kitchen to bring his order. In the meantime, Maria went near the head of staff…

Maria: “Excuse me Sir”

The Head looked at Maria…

Head: “Yes, how may I help you?”

Maria: “I heard you were looking for some workers. My name is Maria, I am from village Selonova, and I am in a desperate need of work, Sir”

Head: “Selonova…isn’t that the village where mostly old people live?”

Maria: “Yes”

Head: “Fine, come to the palace tomorrow at 8:00 AM sharp”

He pulled out a pen from his shirt pocket, wrote something on a piece of paper and signed on it, then he gave it to Maria…

Head: “When you reach the front door tomorrow, show this to the guards. They will let you in”

Maria: “Thank you so much, Sir”

Head: “Don’t thank me, I haven’t given you the job yet, I just gave you an opportunity”

In the meantime, the manager brought a small chocolate crust cake with orange caviar and saffron as toppings, and put it on the table…

Manager: “Thank you for your patience, Sir” (He smiled)

Head: “A delicious treat is always worth waiting” (He smiled)

The Head looked at Maria who was standing…

Head: “Please have a seat”

Maria: “It’s okay Sir” (Hesitant tone)

Head: “I insist”

Maria sat opposite to him. He then cut a slice from his cake and gave it to Maria. After that he started his portion, but Maria was yet to start eating. Watching that the Head said…

Head: “Eat Maria”

Maria started eating when she heard him. While eating…

Head: “I have heard that all the young people of your village have come to Othon for a better living”

Maria: “Yes Sir”

Head: “What about the animal attacks? Has it reduced?”

Maria: “We have become used to live in those conditions, Sir”

Head paused for a moment…

Head: “I cannot speak on behalf of the military, but I can only say that you took the right decision by coming to Othon…So, with whom do you live there?”

Maria: “My aunt, she is blind. So, I have to make money in order to feed ourselves”

Head again paused for a moment, and then he stood up, cleaned his lips with the paper napkins. He put his hand on her shoulder…

Head: “Show me tomorrow, how desperately you need this job, and don’t be late”

He left after saying that. Sometime later, Maria also left the shop.

 

**[Central City]**

The Ishvalan man that Roy and Riza admitted in the hospital was awake. He was having his food when Roy and Riza entered his room. Roy sat near him on a stool, and Riza was standing behind Roy. The man looked Roy for a moment, and then spoke…

Man: “Thank you for saving my life”

Roy: “Are you from IFF?”

Man: “Yes, and I know what are you worried about right now”

Riza was surprised when she heard something like that from a stranger...

Man: “I don’t know where your son is or how he is”

Riza was shocked…

Riza: “What do you mean where his son is? General’s son is dead” (Anxious tone)

Roy looked at Riza…

Roy: “Oliver is alive”

Riza started breathing heavily when she heard that. She couldn’t speak, so Roy stood up, hugged her and started rubbing her back…

Roy: “I will tell you everything after this” (Assuring tone)

Riza: “But, I saw and held his dead body. I cannot make any mistake while recognizing my own child” (restless tone)

Roy: “I will explain everything”

He called the two soldiers who were standing outside the room…

Roy: “Take care of her”

He then cupped Riza’s face and looked into her eyes…

Roy: “I am coming outside in a moment and I will explain you everything”

Riza went with the soldiers outside the room. She sat on a chair which was outside the room, and was trying to calm herself, whereas Roy was getting all the information from the Ishvalan man. The Ishvalan man told Roy everything he saw at the warehouse, but he had no idea about Oliver. The only thing he knew about Oliver was that he was kept as a hostage. Roy then recollected the information he got from Colonel Armstrong last night where he told that the monster was chasing a 9-10 year old child. He was now thinking that the child could be Oliver after all. He then went outside the room where Riza was seating on a chair waiting for him to come outside. As soon as she saw Roy, she stood up…

Riza: “Tell me everything now” (Anxious tone)

Roy told her everything, from his encounter with Thomas Maxwell (IFF commander) to the imitators (the chimeras which can transform), and everything the Ishvalan told him. After listening everything, Riza sat on a chair near her with disbelief on her face. Roy placed his hand on Riza’s shoulder…

Roy: “Everything will be okay”

She looked at Roy with anger…

Riza: “Everything would have been okay if you hadn’t brought him to central on the first place” (Angry tone)

In the meantime, Colonel Armstrong reached there…

Alex: “Can I help?”

Roy looked at Alex…

Roy: “Yes, you can come with to a warehouse”

Alex: “But, Sir I need to interrogate the Ishvalan man”

Roy walked toward Alex…

Roy: “Don’t worry about that, I have already interrogated him. I will fill you in on the way, now let’s go”

Alex: “But, Si…”

Roy: “It’s an order Colonel Armstrong”

Roy, Riza and Alex got to Roy’s car. Alex was very big to sit at the driver’s seat, so Riza approached toward the driver’s seat, but Roy blocked her by first reaching to the handle…

Roy: “Let me drive”

Riza glared at Roy…

Riza: “With all due respect, Sir. It won’t look good if a General is driving a car while his subordinates sit”

Roy was already afraid the way she was looking at him, still he talked in authority…

Roy: “I don’t care, take your seats, I will be driving, and that’s an order”

Riza didn’t speak, and went to the other side to enter into the car. Alex sat on the back seat like a contortionist, and Roy sat on the driver’s seat.  Roy then drove straight to the warehouse. While driving…

Alex: “Are you two having some arguments?”

Roy: “No, everything is fine” (He said while laughing hesitantly)

Alex: “Of course”

After a small pause…

Roy: “Colonel Armstrong, what other evidences did you find at the goods station?”

Alex: “We found an abandoned car, which has been currently taken to a military facility for inspection”

Roy: “Fine, we will be going to that facility after this”

Sometime later they reached the warehouse, they saw everything there was broken and stuffs were lying here and there. They saw a broken shutter in front of them, and went toward it. The room behind the shutter was dark because all the lights were broken and there was no way for direct sunlight to reach there. Roy ordered the soldiers to bring some flash lights, and they brought enough to light up the room. When they switched on the lights, they saw the most gruesome scene they could ever imagine. There were human body parts spread everywhere in the room, and the walls were stained with human blood. They went more inside the room, and on one portion of the wall they saw something ungodly…

Alex: “Good god, what could have done this?”

It was a huge claw mark...

Roy: “So, there was actually a monster here after all”

They went more inside the warehouse, and finally they reached the end section where there were few rooms and one of the wall was torn apart. Sunlight was directly entering through the broken wall, lighting up the section. Everything there was messed up, and there were bullet holes on the walls…

Roy: “I guess the monster would have escaped from here. But, then why would it break a concrete wall to escape?”

Riza: “Let’s check the rooms, we may find some clues there”

They looked inside the room where Thomas was living, they saw some files lying there, and a map Central city with some notes and photographs on it…

Alex: “Looks like we found the plans of IFF”

Riza: “And it seems like they won’t be executing those plans for some time”

They collected as much as evidence as they could. Finally, they entered the room where Oliver was kept hostage, they looked in the room and saw a handcuff lying on the bed, and soon after that Roy and Riza noticed the peeled apple skin on the floor. Both of them looked at each other…

Roy, Riza: “Oli…”

Riza: “He was here” (She was happy to find out that Oliver was alive)

Alex: “How do you know?”

Riza: “He never eats the peels of an apple, he must have been kept here. And these ropes must have been used to tie his hands so that he couldn’t perform alchemy” (She smiled)

Roy: “Colonel Armstrong”

Alex: “General”

Roy: “Find out about the train, where did it stop and what route did it take”

Alex: “Yes Sir”

 

**[Eastern Area border village]**

A small group of military officers including Lieutenant General Swindale Abingdon of Eastern Command were waiting for someone to arrive. Soon Ling and his company arrived there, they got off their horses. Swindale walked toward Ling…

Swindale: “Welcome Prince Ling Yao to Amestris” (He said with a smile)

Ling: “Wow, this experience is very much different than the last time” (In a low tone)

Swindale: “I am Lieutenant General Swindale Abingdon, my subordinates and I will take care of you and your companions from here”

Mei: “You are right, last time I had hard time finding food” (In low tone)

Hu Zemin (political advisor of Ling) came forward to talk with the General…

Hu: “Hello General, I am Hu Zemin, and I am Prince Ling’s advisor. You can talk to me instead of talking to the prince directly”

Swindale looked at Ling…

Ling: “Yes, yes, you talk to him. And bring us some food”

Swindale: “Sure, let me first take you to a place where you can relax and have food”

They took them to a nearby hotel which was preoccupied by the military due to the arrival of Ling.  Ling, Yang, Hu and Swindale got inside a car with a military driver, and the others took another car. While going…

Swindale: “We will leave for Central by tonight’s train. The meeting is tomorrow evening”

Hu: “Are all the Generals coming for tomorrow’s meeting?”

Swindale: “Except Major General Volkmar and Lieutenant General Armstrong, everyone will be there…By the way, if you won’t mind, may I ask you a question?”

Hu: “Yes please”

Swindale: “Why didn’t the Emperor come himself?”

Hu: “As Prince Ling was involved in the fight against the terrorists at Central command, Emperor thought that it will be better if Prince Ling goes for the first visit”

Swindale: “I see”

Hu: “I don’t know much about the previous Fuehrer, but he never liked to have a friendly meeting like this”

Swindale: “No two leaders can ever be same, Mr. Zemin. Every leader has their own way of leading because of which different people follow different leaders. You and I, are just followers just like most of the people”

They reached the hotel in some time. When Ling got inside the hotel, he saw the hotel owner welcoming them….

Owner: “Welcome Prince L…”

Ling: “Where is food?”

Owner: “Oh, it’s in the dining hall”

Ling: “Take me there”

Owner: “As you wish Prince”

He took him to the dining hall where there was a big elliptical table, and lots of dishes were placed on it. Ling rushed to the table and started eating the food present there like a barbarian. Watching that the owner started laughing hesitantly, but he stopped laughing when he saw all the Xingese join their prince at the table, except Hu.

Owner: “So, how is the food Prince?” (With a hesitant chuckle)

But, he did not receive any reply, because everyone was focused on eating…

Swindale: “Aren’t they ill mannered?”

The owner looked at Swindale with a confused look, he didn’t know whether he should agree with him or not.

 

**[Central City]**

Roy, Riza and Alex were at the military facility where the car was being inspected. They got inside where a soldier was waiting for them…

Alex: “Did you find anything?”

Soldier: “We collected some evidences from inside the car”

Alex: “Show us the evidences”

The soldier took them to the evidence room and showed the things which were collected. There was a black and white old photograph which had the images of Thomas, Rolan, Richard (Oliver’s maths teacher), Richard’s daughter and Scar’s Master. In the image everyone was smiling while Rolan was carrying Richard’s 5 year old daughter on his arms.

Roy: “All of them are from IFF except Mr. Pandit (Scar’s Master)”

In the meantime Riza noticed a half-eaten apple…

Riza: “Apple?”

Roy and Alex also looked at the half eaten apple…

Roy: “Can it be?”

Riza: “Yes, it’s definitely the same apple. He must have kept this in his pocket while travelling by the car, and it must have fell from his pocket”

She looked at Roy with a happy face…

Riza: “Do you remember, when he eats apple, he keeps half the eaten apple in his pockets, so that he can eat it later? I have scolded him a lots of time, but he keeps on doing the same mistake” (She chuckled)

Roy smiled at her...

Riza: “I wonder where he would be, now I can only pray for his safety until we find him”

Suddenly, the soldier interrupted them…

Soldier: “Excuse me Colonel Armstrong”

Everyone looked at the soldier…

Alex: “What is it officer?”

Soldier: “The information about the train which you asked for, it is going to Youswell, it stopped for the first time at East City where the driver left the train. He was panicked for some reason, and a new driver had to take his place. Few minutes ago it left the Cameron station”

Alex: “Thank you for the information Officer”

The soldier saluted them and left…

Riza: “East City then”

Roy: “We have to search all the places in the route where the train has stopped or going to stop”

Alex: “But, it will take a lot of time Sir, and tomorrow is the Amestris-Xing meeting”

Roy: “The search operation won’t affect the meeting Colonel. Send the description of Oliver to the Eastern Command and tell them to organize a search operation in the area where the train has stopped, also give them the instruction to proceed carefully if they see any person with Oliver”

Alex: “Yes Sir”

Roy then looked at Riza…

Roy: “Don’t worry, our son is smarter and braver than both of us”

She smiled to assure that she believed in him…

 

**[Cameron – Eastern Area]**

A freight train stopped at the Cameron station, there were almost no people at the station. Oliver and Thomas were in one of the wagons, and when the train stopped, Oliver woke up from his slumber. Oliver saw Thomas unconscious, he wanted to get off that train, but he was feeling guilty to leave an injured man behind. Suddenly he heard some distinct noises, “Hey come over here, this wagon seems open”

Oliver then heard some fast footsteps approaching toward him, and after few moments he saw a 12-13 years old boy standing outside the train, looking toward him with surprise. Soon, some other kids joined him, there were total 4 kids there, 3 boys and 1 girl, all in the age range of 9-13. The first who saw Oliver said…

Boy1: “Who are you?”

Oliver: “Can you help me bring him out?”

All of them saw Thomas who was unconscious and his head was bandaged…

Boy1: “Is he your father?”

Oliver: “No”

Girl: “Are you two criminals, and running from the military?”

Oliver: “No” (Confused tone)

Girl: “Then why are you hiding in a freight train’s wagon?”

Oliver: “We were running from a monster”

Boy2: “Don’t try to fool us, we know monsters aren’t real”

Oliver: “Well at least you can help me to take him to a doctor, he is injured”

All the kids circled around and started discussing among themselves, then after few moments they replied…

Boy1: “Fine, we will help you”

2 boys got inside the wagon, and dragged Thomas by his legs to the door. At the door, Oliver and the other 2 kids held his legs, the 2 boys inside held his arms and they successfully brought him outside the wagon…

Boy1: “Now we need to get him to a doctor…Let’s take him to our cart”

Everyone carried him to their cart which was kept at the other side of the station, and there was no one watching them as if the station was abandoned. Soon they reached to their cart which was a looking like a tricycle, but with 5 tires instead and the area just behind the driver seat was a huge plank to carry things. The kids placed Thomas on the plank, one of the boys rode the cart to paddle, and everyone else were walking…

Oliver: “Thank you for helping me”

Boy1: “It’s okay”

Oliver: “By the way, my name is Oliver”

Boy1: “My name is Harvey, this is Alvin (pointing toward the boy walking beside him)”

Girl: “I am Isa”

Harvey: “And he is Reggie” (pointing toward the boy who was paddling the cart)

Isa: “So, where are you from Oliver?”

Oliver: “I am from Central City”

Harvey: “You are very lucky, we want to leave this gloomy place, but we cannot leave our parents”

Isa: “Aren’t your parents going to miss you, now that you are here?”

Oliver: “Yeah, my father will go crazy. I think Ms. Hawkeye will get even madder, she is my father’s subordinate by the way”

Harvey: “Is your father in military?”

Oliver: “Yes, in fact he is a General”

Alvin: “What? Your father is a General in the military?”

Oliver: “He is even a state alchemist, you may know him by the name Roy Mustang – the flame alchemist” (proud tone)

Reggie stopped paddling the cart and looked toward Oliver…

Reggie: “What? Your father is the flame alchemist?”

Harvey: “If you are really the flame alchemist’s son, then what are you doing here?”

Oliver: “I told you, we were attacked by a monster”

Reggie: “I think he is lying guys”

Reggie again started paddling the cart…

Oliver: “The monster was real, you would have believed if you had seen it. It was like a human but with four arms, and it was crawling. It was pitch black in color with glowing red eyes, and it was very big”

Harvey: “If the monster was attacking you, then why didn’t your father and his other alchemist friends stop it?”

Oliver: “None of the military were present there when we were attacked”

Harvey: “Your story doesn’t seem believable”

Oliver: “I was kidnapped by his people (pointing toward Thomas), so my father was not with me. If he would have been there then he would have burnt that monster into ashes”

Alvin: “If he kidnapped you, then why are you are trying to save him?”

Oliver: “Even though he was a bad person, he treated me well. He promised me to let me go to my father in few days, but the monster attacked before that”

Harvey: “I don’t know if you are telling the truth or not, but I do know that monsters exists only in fairy tales”

In the meantime, they reached the hospital which was very small compared to the hospitals in Central City…

Reggie: “Call someone from the hospital to carry him in”

Isa and Oliver went inside the hospital and brought two nurses with them who took Thomas inside the hospital. Outside the hospital…

Harvey: “Let’s go guys”

Oliver: “Where are you going?”

Harvey: “The train must have left the station by now, so we are going to the lake”

Isa: “Hey Oliver, you should come with us, we will introduce you to our Oliver”

Oliver: “You have a friend whose name is also Oliver?” (Curious tone)

Alvin and Reggie started laughing…

Alvin: “Yes, and he is very big unlike you” (He said while laughing)

Isa: “Let’s go, see for yourself”

All the four kids took Oliver to the lake, and sat under a big shady thorn less fruitless black Olive tree…

Oliver: “Where is the other Oliver?”

Alvin: “You are sitting just below him”

Oliver looked around…

Oliver: “What do you mean?”

Harvey: “This olive tree’s name is Oliver, it was planted here a very long time ago”

Isa: “People say there is no other olive tree like it, it is very big, shady and thorn less, which are generally not the characteristics of an olive tree. People also say that, it lost its ability to bear fruit as a tradeoff for its uniqueness”

Oliver was looking at the unique tree whose name was same as his…

Oliver: {Why do I feel like I have been to this place?}

 

**[Othon- Drachma]**

After getting out of “Granny’s Cakes”, Maria wandered around in the nearby areas before going to the bar where she asked Danny and Boris to wait for her. When she entered inside the bar, she searched for them, and saw Danny was sitting on a sofa at a corner eating peanuts in a bowl. She went to Danny…

Maria: “Hey Danny, sorry I got a little late”

After saying that, she took a seat beside him…

Danny: “At least you showed up, I was very much bored”

Maria: “Where is Boris?”

Danny: “I don’t know, he told me that he will meet us at the hotel. What about your job? Did you get it?”

Maria: “He has called me to the palace for some interview I guess”

Danny: “Great start”

Maria: “Shall I bring you anything to drink?”

Danny: “Hmmm…a beer”

Maria stood up and went to the counter to order two beers. The bartender gave her two mugs full of beer. She picked up the mugs and moved toward Danny, but while going, she collided with a big gangster like looking man and spilled some beer from her mugs on the man’s shirt…

Maria: “Sorry”

The man looked at her and lightly squeezed her cheek with one hand…

Man: “Why don’t you lick it off instead of saying sorry?” (Creepy tone)

Maria ignored him and tried to move pass him, but the man held her shoulder…

Man: “Where do you think you are going Miss? Didn’t you listen what I just said?”

Maria: “Leave me” (angry tone)

Man: “Why don’t you make me?”

Maria didn’t want to jeopardize her mission by getting into a bar fight…

Maria: “Please leave me Sir”

Man: “If you really want me to leave you, then lick it off my shirt”

Everyone in the bar was looking at them, but no one was doing anything. When Danny found out that Maria was in problem, he went there and interrupted them…

Danny: “Hey Maria, have you brought my beer?”

Maria and the Man looked at him. Danny came near, took one mug from her and drank some beer from that mug…

Danny: “Let’s go, I need to talk to you”

When Maria tried to move, the man grabbed her wrist which was free. When Maria tried to pull out her hand from that man’s hold, he held her more tightly. Watching that Danny said to the man…

Danny: “You are hurting her”

Man: “Then why don’t you save her?”

Danny got closer to that big man…

Danny: “We don’t want any trouble”

Man: “Oh sorry to disappoint you, but you are already in one”

Danny: “Please leave her Sir”

Man: “I gave you chance to be a man, and it seems you are nothing but a pussy” (Insulting tone)

Danny couldn’t control his anger anymore and spilled all the beer in his mug on the man’s shirt. The man looked at his wet shirt and slowly left Maria’s wrist. After that he punched Danny on his stomach, and just after getting one punch Danny held his belly and fell on his knees…

Man: “You are pathetic, can’t even save your girl” (insulting tone)

Hearing that, Danny glared at the man and tried to stand up, but before he could get up, he was kicked on the face by the man. Maria was unable to see Danny getting humiliated and beaten by that man, so she smashed the beer mug she was holding on the man’s head. That man got angrier and was about to punch her when someone interrupted…

Anonymous: “Would you really hit a woman? What a disgrace”

That man looked toward the person who interrupted, he was sitting at the counter drinking vodka in a tumbler with crushed ice in it, and a lemon slice on top of it with mint leaves. He was wearing a polar bear coat. Listening to him, the man got angrier, he lowered down his hand and walked toward him. After getting closer to him, the man held his shoulder and forcefully turned him toward him. It was Coeus (introduced in chapter 1, he was among the three persons who were planning to attack on Amestris), and he was looking calmly at the man who was glaring at him…

Man: “So you think you are man enough to stop me from hitting that woman over there?” (Angry tone)

Coeus: “Yes” (Calm tone)

Man: “I will beat you to a pulp, then I will take your expensive polar bear coat from you, and then I will beat that woman in front of your eyes” (Angry tone)

Coeus stood up from his chair…

Coeus: “Why don’t you stop talking and show me what you can do?” (Provoking tone)

That man got angrier, he grabbed Coeus’ coat collar by one hand, and moved his other hand to punch Coeus. But, before his fist could touch Coeus’ face, Coeus stopped the punch with one hand and held his wrist with other hand. Coeus then slowly moved the man’s hand from his collar without even breaking a sweat and head butted that man. With just that single head butt, the man’s nose started bleeding, he fell on the floor and got unconscious…

Coeus: “Like I thought, you were nothing but just talks”

Everyone were looking at a big man lying on the floor unconscious, and they were still unable to believe it. Soon after that, more than half of the people in the bar stood up, all of them were men. And out of that population, a 7 feet plus bald man walked toward Coeus and stood few feet away from him. He looked toward Maria…

Man: “I am sorry for what he did to you”

Then he looked toward Coeus…

Man: “As for you, we have to beat you to a pulp, like our brother told you”

The gang members closed the exit door, every non gang member present in the bar moved out of the way between the Coeus and the gang members. Watching that, Maria spoke looking toward Coeus…

Maria: “Sorry, you got involved” (Guilty tone)

Coeus: “Now that I am involved, it will be better if you back off a little to a safe place”

Man: “Do you really think you can beat us all?”

Coeus: “I don’t think, I just know it”

Every gang member started laughing listening to his reply…

Man: “You are funny…I like you (He said while laughing)…I have decided, I will let you go…if you say sorry for what you did”

After listening to the simple and very reasonable bargain, Coeus lifted one of his leg and kicked the unconscious man lying on the floor on his face breaking some of his teeth…

Coeus: “Sorry for what I did”

His actions angered all the gang members present there. Some of the gang members ran toward him from all the directions. Before they could reach near Coeus, he removed his coat and gave it to the bartender at the counter…

Coeus: “Keep it clean”

He then held the head of the first gangster who reached near him and hit his head on the counter, then he backward kicked the man behind him on the thighs, due to which the man fell on his knees. Coeus quickly turned back and punched him on his face making him spit blood and get unconscious. He then quickly grabbed that man with one hand and threw him on a group of gangster running toward him. Watching that, all gangsters pulled out there knife and knuckles. Coeus also moved to the middle…

Coeus: “I hope this will be a better location for you to attack me”

Many gangsters surrounded him, and were slowly closing into him. Due to their cautious slow movement Coeus got impatient and quickly ran toward one of the gangsters surrounding him. His movement was so fast that the gangsters had no time to react. When they realized that he moved from his place, he was already holding the neck of one gangster. He lifted him up, and was slowly chocking him. Watching that, the gang members standing beside him tried to attack him. But, before they could reach him, he slammed the man he was holding by the neck on the floor and quickly grabbed waist band of another gangster’s pant. He then threw that man toward a group of gangsters who were going to attack him, and turned around to look at the group of gangsters who were coming toward him to attack. But, when they saw the glare of Coeus, none of them dared to come near him. In the meantime, the tall bald guy quickly came near him and was about to hit him with his brass knuckles on. But, he just missed to hit Coeus, his fist just grazed Coeus’ shirt when Coeus dodged the attack. Coeus quickly turned around, and saw a punch coming toward him, he dodged the attack and punched that man on his belly. But, that man was tough, he withstood the pain and tried to punch again. Again Coeus dodged his attack and punched him on his chest. That man started coughing blood when he received the punch, and fell on his knees…

Coeus: “Stay down, and I promise, I will spare your life”

A Gangster: “Are you alright Boss?”

Man: “Yes” (He said while coughing)

The gangsters who were still on their feet understood that their boss was hurt badly, but he was too proud to admit it. They got enraged and ran toward Coeus to attack him, and Coeus was fighting them without even breaking a sweat. His one punch was enough to make them unconscious, and soon the bar was filled with passed out gangsters. When he punched the last gangster in the bar, the bald man pulled out his gun and pointed toward Coeus…

Man: “What are you?” (Stressed tone)

Coeus looked toward him…

Coeus: “A better future”

Coeus’ answer angered the man and he fired two shots from his hand gun. But, both the bullets missed Coeus and hit the bottles on the shelf behind Coeus. The man couldn’t believe he failed to hit Coeus, he started trembling holding the gun, sitting on his knees. Coeus went near him, and placed his hand over that man’s head…

Coeus: “First defeat is always bitter”

He then moved passed him to the counter, and asked the bartender for his coat. The bartender was trembling while giving back his coat. After taking his coat, he opened one of the exit doors and left the bar, while everyone was watching him leave. After few minutes, when everyone in the bar were taking a breath of relief while the gangsters were lying on the floor, the Drachmann military entered inside the bar. Watching that, the bar owner went to the military officer in charge…

Owner: “I can explain everything Sir”

Officer: “I know everything. I am just here to pick up the trash”

The soldiers were picking up the unconscious and conscious gangsters and putting them in the vans outside. And after sometime, everything returned to normal.


	12. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver coincidentally reaches the place where he was born and the hometown of his mother. He makes some friends there who helps him save Thomas (Leader of IFF). While Thomas is in hospital, Oliver wanders around the town with his newly made friends and goes to the Lake and the big Olive tree where his parents made memories, but he is unaware about that. He meets Krid Novak (the person who was secretly monitored by Roy during his early days in military) near the lake. On the other side, in Central City, the first Amestris - Xing meeting is happening where both countries come to many diplomatic conclusions. After the meeting ends, Ling asks Fuehrer Grumman to organize an exhibition match between one of their state alchemist with Yang Gong (the 4th greatest warrior of Xing), to which the Fuehrer agrees and Alex Armstrong is chosen to fight Yang. In West, William (in charge of Donovan's murder case) goes to Wellesley where Donovan was killed, and he has a unforgettable encounter with Iapetus (who has the ability to show illusions). While all this is going on in Amestris, Maria takes her first step to enter inside the palace of the Drachmann King by taking part in the reputed test for the selection of temporary staff.

**[Cameron – Funeral Day of Matilda Becker]**

After having their first family photo, Roy, Riza and Oliver went to the Hawkeye residence. When they entered inside the house, it was not that dusty or dirty what Roy expected….

Roy: “Wow, I thought this place will be covered with spider webs and dust”

Riza was holding Oliver in her arms

Riza: “I came here just few weeks back”

Roy got inside, dusted off the sofa and sat on it…

Roy: “This is a unique day, don’t you think?”

Riza: “Yes it is”

Roy: “Now, we need to discuss our son’s future”

Riza: “We cannot take him to East City”

Roy: “I know, that’s why I was thinking of leaving him with Anna. She has an orphanage, that’s why it will be easier for her to take care of him, and Oliver will grow up making some friends there. Like you used to meet Oliver here every week, we can go to Tobha in the same manner”

Riza: “I am okay with that”

Roy: “There is one more thing we need to do”

Riza: “What?”

Roy: “We need to tell Anna the truth”

Riza: “You know that will be risky. What if she tells someone, and the truth gets to the military?”

Roy stood up and placed his palm over Oliver’s head…

Roy: “We have to trust someone, after all it’s for our son’s safety as well as to make sure you remain my personal assistant”

Oliver got irritated by the tousling and removed Roy’s hand from his head. Watching that Roy smiled for a moment…

Roy: “Also we have to maintain a lie so that we can make our dreams come true, so that our son can live in a better world. And when the day comes, you will yourself tell him the truth”

Riza put Oliver on the floor, took a deep breath and sat on the sofa…

Riza: “So what lie are we going to maintain?”

Roy: “We cannot tell Oliver where he was born, or anything about this place. Everything in this town will lead to you, eventually our past will be revealed, and right now I cannot afford to let you go to some other unit”

Riza: “But, how are you going to convince Anna?”

Roy: “Her husband died in the war, I think she will understand if we tell her what we are trying to do?”

Later that day, they told Anna the truth about Riza being Oliver’s mother, and how Roy need Riza with him, how they cannot risk their son’s life. It was easy for them to persuade Anna to keep Oliver with her and maintain a lie till the time comes. And all this was possible because they told the truth

 

**[Cameron – present day]**

It had been one day since Oliver arrived at Cameron, and since then he was hanging out with the four children he met who helped him. They were playing near the lake, when they saw Krid Novak (blind ex Amestrian soldier who was surveilled by Roy during his early days) sitting under the Olive tree…

Alvin: “Hey guys, shall we do that?”

Harvey: “Let’s give Oliver the chance this time”

Oliver: “What chance?”

Reggie: “Nothing, it’s just a stupid game”

Alvin: “You have lost every single game, that doesn’t mean the game is stupid”

Oliver: “What’s the game?”

Alvin: “Do you see the man sitting over there?” (Pointing toward Krid)

Oliver: “Yes”

Alvin: “You just have to throw a pebble at him. If it hits him, you win”

Oliver: “Don’t you think its bad manners to throw stones at people?”

Harvey: “Well it’s not if that person wants you to throw stones at him. He enjoys it too”

Oliver: “How can get hit by stone be enjoyable?”

Harvey: “Believe me it’s very difficult to hit him even when his back is facing us”

Alvin: “Now pick up a pebble”

Oliver was nervous…

Isa: “Don’t worry, Mr. Novak enjoy this game too”

Oliver: “But...”

Isa: “Fine, let me proof this”

She looked toward Krid, and made loudspeaker gesture with her hands near her mouth and shouted…

Isa: “HEY MR.NOVAK, WE HAVE A NEW FRIEND TODAY. CAN YOU PLEASE TELL HIM THAT YOU ENJOY THIS PEBBLE THROWING GAME?”

Krid replied still looking toward the lake…

Krid: “OH, you are starting the game? I should better stand then”

He stood up after saying that but, he was still facing the lake…

Alvin: “Shit, we had better chance to hit him while he was sitting. Now it’s going to be very difficult”

Isa: “Do you seriously believe that after all these days?”

Harvey: “Now Oliver, pick up a pebble and try to hit him”

Oliver: “Do you really think I should throw stones at him?”

Alvin: “Just do it man, didn’t you hear Mr. Novak gave his approval?” (Annoyed tone)

Oliver picked up a pebble from the ground, and threw it toward Krid. But the pebble was far off the target so, Krid didn’t even had to dodge it. The pebble straight up went into the lake and made a gulp sound. Watching that all the kids were staring at Oliver with a questioning look on their face…

Reggie: “I think he still doesn’t believe us or Mr. Novak”

Alvin: “Fine I will show you”

Alvin picked up a pebble from the ground, aimed at Krid’s head and threw it. Krid was still looking toward the lake, facing his back to the kids, still he was able to dodge the pebble, just by moving his neck ….

Alvin: “See how he dodged it” (Looking toward Oliver)

Harvey: “Leave him Reggie, let’s start the game”

Everyone except Oliver picked up some pebbles from the ground…

Harvey: “WE ARE STARTING MR. NOVAK”

Krid: “SURE”

Krid picked up a small broken branch from the ground. All the children then started throwing pebbles toward him simultaneously, and Krid was able to dodge all the pebbles while blocking some pebbles with the branch he had. When the children had no more pebbles in their hands…

Alvin: “YOU ARE AWESOME MR. NOVAK”

Krid smiled while he was still looking toward the lake…

Oliver: “Wow, how can he do that?”

Alvin: “I told you”

Reggie: “And I told you it’s a stupid game, we are never able to hit him”

Isa: “Let’s go, we will introduce you to him”

They walked near Krid…

Isa: “Hello Mr. Novak”

Krid turned around, he had brown untidy beards, and he was still looking as if he was in his thirties. When Oliver saw his clouded eyes, he was surprised…

Oliver: “Are you blind Mr. Novak?”

Krid: “Unfortunately” (He smiled)

Oliver: “Then how come you can dodge so many pebbles thrown at you at the same time?”

Reggie: “He can sense them. That’s what he told us”

Krid: “That’s true”

Oliver: “Are you some warrior from Xing? Cause they can sense things”

Krid: “I am not a warrior from Xing, but I can still do that”

Alvin: “He was in the military during the Ishvalan war”

Krid: “By the way, how is your mother, Oliver?”

Oliver was shocked when he heard that…

Alvin: “I forgot to mention that he can hear sounds from quite a distance. So, he might have heard us when we were talking”

Krid: “That’s true as well” (He smiled)

Oliver: “How do you know about my mother?” (Anxious tone)

Isa: “Yes, how can you know his mother? He has been to this place for the first time and as far as we know, you have never left this town”

Krid: “Oliver won’t remember me, because the first time I met him, he was not even a year old. Later, he and his mother possibly left this town, because of that I never met them again”

Oliver: “How can you possibly know that? You can’t even see, and I was just a baby when we met according to you”

Alvin: “Sorry I should have told you this too. He can identify people just by their smell”

Oliver: “WHAT?”

Harvey, Isa and Reggie: “That’s true as well”

Krid smiled listening to them…

Oliver: “That doesn’t make any sense unless you are a chimera, but I have read lots of book and in none of them is there any case of stable human chimera”

Krid: “Well, everything is not given in the books Oliver. After all the books you read are all created by the government, and they don’t want you to know that human chimeras are real”

Oliver was looking at him for few moments without speaking a word, and gulped…

Krid: “So, how is your mother?”

Oliver averted away his eyes from Krid and looked at the ground before replying…

Oliver: “Well, I don’t know anything about my mother or you can say I don’t remember her. My father told me, she left us”

Krid: “Why would she do that? All the time, I passed by your mother’s flower shop, she seemed very happy playing with you”

That was the first time Oliver heard something about her mother which seemed to be true. After hearing to Krid, a big genuine smile appeared on Oliver’s face…

Oliver: “My mother sold flowers?”

Krid: “Yes, in fact she was very good at that. I remember the time when I bought a bouquet of gardenias, and you started crying when she was talking to me”

Those happy moments that Oliver couldn’t remember were still able to bring happiness on his face…

Oliver: “Mr. Novak”

Krid: “Yes, Oliver?”

Oliver: “Do you remember her name?”

Krid: “It was Elizabeth”

Oliver: “Elizabeth, my mother’s name is Elizabeth” (Murmuring to himself and smiling)

Oliver always pictured his mother in his mind on how she would be looking, and the answers from Krid helped to complete that picture a bit. Now his mother was surrounded by beautiful flowers in his imagination

 

**[Central command]**

All the guest from Xing had arrived at the central command. All the Generals and Fuehrer Grumman except the General of western area, General Volkmar and General Armstrong were sitting inside the meeting room, around the oval table along with the Ling Yao and his political advisor, Hu Zemin…

Hu: “Our emperor has agreed to sell ammunitions to Amestris, but under some conditions”

Grumman: “What conditions?”

Hu: “Xing wants free trade with Amestris. That will mean no import duty will be levied on any Xingese goods being sold at Amestris and in return no import duty will be levied on Amestrian goods sold in Xing”

Roy: “That’s outrageous, you know Xing has a big market in Amestris, but the reverse is not true”

Grumman: “We will think about it and inform you later, Mr. Zemin”

Hu: “That’s understandable Fuehrer Grumman”

The meeting went for quite some time where exchange of alchemists and alkahestry practitioners within the two countries were discussed. Further construction of a railway network was discussed to connect the two countries which would go through the Great Desert. When diplomatic conversation ended, Ling started showing some energy…

Ling: “Fuehrer, I have a request if you won’t mind”

Grumman: “Please Prince, it will be our pleasure”

Ling: “As you know, in our nation we have a group of 12 individuals who are considered the best warriors of Xing, they are called the 12 Zhansi. We have currently 2 of them with us and one of them is the fourth Zhansi, which means he is currently the fourth greatest warrior of our nation. Why don’t we organize a friendly battle exhibition between a Zhansi and a state alchemist? This way we can show the battle skills of each other”

Grumman: “That’s a terrific idea”

Ling: “Great” (Excited tone)

Grumman: “General Lech, can the arrangement be done today itself?” (Looking toward General Fussen Lech of Southern command)

Lech: “Yes Sir, it can be done by today evening”

Grumman: “Let us show how strong our state alchemists are” (He chuckled)

Lech: “Definitely Sir”

Ling: “So, which state alchemist is gonna fight?”

Everybody except Fuehrer Grumman looked toward Roy…

Roy: “Why are you all looking toward me?”

Lech: “Isn’t it obvious General Mustang?”

In the meantime, Grumman interrupted…

Grumman: “Colonel Alex Armstrong”

Everyone looked at Grumman…

Lech: “The strong arm alchemist?”

Grumman: “Yes, even though his alchemy is not as strong as Mustang, his hand to hand combat is far better. He will be a good match for the fourth greatest warrior of Xing. Won’t he Prince Ling?”

Ling: “Definitely”

Roy initially didn’t want to fight, but now when Alex was preferred over him, he felt kind of envy which everybody could see…

Lech: “I will let Colonel Armstrong know, Fuehrer”

The meeting ended with that, and everyone got out to have lunch organized by the Central command. Once everyone was out of the meeting room, Ling got near Roy…

Ling: “General Mustang”

In the meantime Mei and Lan Fan joined Ling…

Roy: “Yes Prince Ling?” (He looked at Ling)

Ling: “Sorry to hear about your loss. I came to know about it just now when Hu told me, if I had known, I wouldn’t have requested for the fighting exhibition”

Roy: “Thank You, but I request you to not let your decisions affected by my personal reasons”

Roy didn’t want to create a fuss by spreading the news that Oliver was alive…

Mei: “I can’t believe that he is dead. I met him only few weeks back, I even taught him alkahestry for some time” (Sad tone)

Roy: “I know, he told me about that (He smiled)”

Roy then saw Riza looking at him from a distance in attention stance…

Roy: “Please excuse me, I guess some work has come up”

Roy walked toward Riza after saying that. When he reached near Riza, they walked toward their office…

Roy: “Any update?”

Riza: “Search operation has been started at East city, and for the smaller regions, the operation will take 4-5 days to start. Soldiers have been informed to report to central command if they find any one of them, and not to indulge in any kind of conflict or even a simple conversation. Oli’s identity has also been kept a secret from the soldiers in order to avoid any undesirable incident”

Roy: “Hmmm, it’s faster than what I expected”

Riza: “General”

Roy: “Yes?”

Riza: “One of the smaller region include my hometown. Do you think Oli might be there?”

Roy: “He can be anywhere, but the only way to increase our chances to find him is to search the bigger areas first”

 

 

 

**[Wellesly – Western Area]**

Lieutenant Colonel William J. Barns (Person assigned to investigate Donovan’s death) was at Wellesly searching clues about Donovan’s death. He went to the cliff where a couple found Donovan’s dead body, he was there all by himself without any other soldier around him. It was a cloudy day, and even though it was noon, it was looking like evening. He was standing on the cliff looking down at the spot where Donovan’s body was found…

William: {So weird, why would a military officer like Donovan will come all the way here, and jumps from this cliff. Why did he even consider taking his own life?}

Suddenly, he heard some noises from the bushes at some distance. William quickly pulled out his gun and pointed toward the direction from where the noise came. He saw something was coming out of the bushes. It was a man around 40 years old with trekking gear, and there were two girls 11-12 years old with him. After watching the girls, William put back his gun. That man watched William in front of him…

Man: “Wow, there is already someone here” (Panting tone)

He walked near William and looked toward the city from the cliff along with the two girls…

Man: “I should have brought a map with me before going for trekking”

William: “You could have just come by car if you wanted to enjoy the view”

Man: “Then this view would have been less satisfying”

William: “Do you come here very often?”

Man: “You can say that...so, are you also here for enjoying the view?”

William: “Actually I was here for some work related matters…Are you aware about the death of a military officer who died here?”

Man: “Do you mean Lieutenant Donovan?”

William was shocked on hearing the man’s reply…

William: “How do you know his name? That hasn’t been revealed to the press”

The man turned around along with his daughters in perfect sync, and they started staring at William…

Man: “I even know how he died, in fact I can tell you with detail. Wait I can demonstrate you” (He grinned)

William got terrified, started breathing heavily and sweat started appearing on his forehead. He pulled out his gun with his trembling fingers and pointed it toward the man. While William was looking toward them with a terrified look, both the girls turned around and jumped from the cliff…

Man: “That’s how he died”

Upon watching the two girls jump from the cliff, William rushed toward the edge and looked down the cliff. He saw the two girls stuck at a rock, few meters above the ground. They were alive, and their head was bleeding heavily. The man was still facing away from the city view…

William: “They are alive, we can still help them” (He said while panting)

Man: “Hmmm, even I had the chance to help Donovan, but I didn’t do that, I preferred to let him die”

William looked toward with a confused yet terrified look…

William: “I am going to save them no matter what”

When he again looked down after he finished off his sentence, he was shocked to find that the girls were no more at the spot where he saw them…

William: “WHAT? Where are the girls?”

Suddenly he heard a mixed voice at some distance on that cliff…

Girls: “We are here, Lieutenant Colonel William J. Barns”

When he saw toward that direction, he saw the two girls standing there, smiling at him. He couldn’t understand what was happening, he was unable to comprehend whether it was real or he was having a bad dream. He looked toward the man…

William: “What is happening?” (Terrified tone)

Man: “Let me show you something worse Lieutenant”

Suddenly, William heard a very familiar voice. He looked toward the direction from where he heard the voice, and saw his wife standing there…

Wife: “Will” (Sobbing tone)

William: “How?”

Wife: “Please save me Will”

Suddenly, a man came from behind, and cut her throat. She fell on the floor with her bleeding throat. Watching that, William screamed….

William: “NO”

He then rushed toward his wife, but before he could touch her, she disappeared. Watching that, William looked around, and there was nobody except a big tall man…

William: “Who are you?”

Man: “You can call me Big John, and I am the one who killed Donovan”

William was confused on what to say after watching so much horrific and strange things…

Man: “I appreciate your determination Colonel William, but you have involved yourself in something which will definitely kill you, if you don’t back down”

William: “I am not going to leave this case, just because a filthy street magician asked me to” (He said while panting and with an angry tone)

Hearing that, a big grin appeared on Big John’s face…

John: “Wonderful. Now I can get some real fun” (He started laughing)

William: “What are you talking about?”

John: “As I already told you, I am the killer of Lieutenant Donovan. You just need to catch me and put me in jail. Isn’t that fun?”

William: “Are you crazy?”

John: “Crazy is a rude word, you can say hmmm…quirky”

William pointed his gun toward John…

William: “Fuck you, I am not going to play this stupid game. You are going to die right here, right now”

He then shot 3 bullets one after another toward John, and all the bullets hit John. John started bleeding from the bullet holes in his chest, he fell on his knees and started groaning in pain, holding the area which had the bullet holes with his hands…

John: “You sick bastard, you really shot me” (He said while groaning)

William walked near him, stood properly and looked down at him…

William: “People like you are a danger to the society, it’s necessary to put you down”

Suddenly, John stopped groaning and started laughing loudly. He looked up at William, who was looking confusingly at him…

John: “I was just having some fun”

He then moved his hands from his chest. There were no bullet wounds there, not even a stain of blood or torn cloth. Watching that, William shot two bullets on John’s head, but John was not hurt at all. It seemed as if he was invincible…

John stood up and looked down at William…

John: “Let me give you a head start…I have played this game of cop and criminal lots of time with many detectives like you, and all of them either went to asylum or they died. And unfortunately you are the cop this time, so be careful” (He grinned)

John then slowly walked past William, while he was going, William replied…

William: “Don’t worry, this time the cop will catch the criminal. I will find you wherever you may be”

John: “How can you find someone who doesn’t even exist?”

Just after saying that, John vanished in thin air.

 

**[Othon – Drachma]**

Maria was standing in a long queue formed before the palace gate for the temporary staff selection that was going to happen that sun less day. There were approximately 100 candidates waiting in the queue which contained both males and females who held an invitation for appearing the test. After sometime, all the people in the queue got inside the palace for the test, and the gate was closed. Everyone then gathered in the central field waiting for someone. Maria was also standing among the candidates, when a girl (Appearance: Brown untied shoulder length hair, green eyes, fair complexion, wearing a round woolen cap, brown fur coat, brown shoes without laces, she was in her early twenties, well-toned body, height same as Maria) spoke to Maria…

Girl: “Is this your first time appearing for the test?”

Maria looked at her…

Maria: “Ye…Yes”

Girl: “Mine too”

Maria: “Why are so many people appearing for a temporary staff position?”

The Girl looked at Maria with a surprised look…

Girl: “What! You don’t even know about one of the toughest and competitive test in Drachma, yet you are here”

Maria: “Sorry, I am from a small village and I was looking for a job, so I came for appearing the test”

Girl: “So, you are a wildcard entry. Lucky you” (sad tone)

Maria: “What is the normal way to appear for the test then?”

Girl: “There is a preliminary test which is conducted in every state of Drachma, and some candidates are selected from each state. They are then called to the palace for the main test, from which a total of 20 candidates are selected. There are about 25-26 vacancies for these positions, but 5-6 positions are already fixed for the employees from Granny’s Cakes “

Maria: “I see. Still why so many people appear for this test?”

Girl: “Once you get selected, you can become a permanent staff here, and the pay is high for that. Besides that, the top 3 temporary staffs are rewarded handsomely…Anyways, if you don’t know anything about this test, then how did you even get a wildcard entry?”

Maria: “Actually I met the Head of Staff yesterday at Granny’s Cakes. I asked him, if he could give me a job. He didn’t give me a job, but he invited me to the palace for appearing the test”

Girl: “Wow, you are so lucky. I think I should have also gone to Granny’s Cakes”

In the meantime, the Head of Staff, Gabriella (Amestrian spy disguised as maid) and a man (Appearance: Messed up black hair with strands of white hairs, drowsy eyes, broad face, wearing a chef’s attire without the hat, a bit fat, height around 6.5 feet, in his early forties) came to the platform constructed for the event. There was a mike on the center of the platform. The Head of staff came near the mike, the man stood on his right hand side, and Gabriella stood on his left hand side. Before speaking, he coughed to get the attention of all the candidates…

Head: “On behalf of all the staffs in the palace, I congratulate you for making it here”

Everyone clapped…

Head: “For all who doesn’t know me, I am the Head of staff Yegor Netto. I will be your supreme commander, what I will order, you have to adhere or you can leave anytime you want. On my right hand side is the Head Chef of the palace, Chef Wolfos Ruck, don’t get intimidated by his size, he is a very sweet person, that is until you follow his orders in the kitchen. On my left hand side is the Chief maid, Ms. Gabriella Karpin. We three will be giving you tasks and judging you based on your performance. Your test will begin after an hour so, prepare yourself”

Gabriella: “Do not think we will show any mercy or pity. So, give it everything you have. Best of luck”

After introducing themselves, the three judges left the platform. Everyone was excited for the test. The girl who was talking to Maria replied along with many other candidates to the “Best of luck” of Gabriella…

Girl: “Thank you Ma’am” (She shouted along with the many other candidates)

In the meantime, Maria was thinking something…

Maria: {So, Gabriella is the Chief maid. That is pretty helpful I guess}

After the three heads left, the girl spoke to Maria taking her away from the thought world...

Girl: “Before, we become competitors, let me introduce myself. I am Jane from a village in the eastern side of Drachma”

Maria: “My name is Maria, and I am from the village Selonova, it is closer to Othon”

Jane: “Nice to meet you Maria” (She smiled)

Maria: “Nice to meet you too” (She smiled)

While everyone was talking to other candidates, a man came to give the instruction…

Man: “Everyone, please pay attention here”

Everyone looked toward the man…

Man: “Your first test will be conducted in Hall H, so be there in one hour. If you come late, you will be disqualified from the test at the spot”

After the man left, every single candidate went to Hall H in order to avoid any disqualification. But, the gates of Hall H were closed. After some time, the gates opened and candidate were allowed to get inside. Jane and Maria were tagging along, after they entered inside Hall H, they saw the first test which was clearly a cooking examination. There were lots of cooking equipment, and there was a pond at the center of the hall. Chef Wolfos Ruck was waiting for the candidates. After all the candidates got inside, they gathered before Wolfos…

Wolfos: “I don’t need to tell you that the first test is a culinary test. For this test you need to form a group of two. As you can see around, you have all the ingredients already present here. On the right extreme end, you can see the vegetables and fruits you need, on the left extreme end, you can see oil and dairy products, and at the center, you can see a pond, where you can find different kind of fishes and other aquatic creatures. You can catch as much as fish you need, and any kind of fish you want using the fishing equipment lying beside the pond. The only criteria in this test is that, you have to prepare a dish where fish will be the main ingredient. If you fail to prepare that, you have to go home. And the most important thing…only 30 teams will go through this test, so…cook me the best dish you got. Everybody got it?”

Mob: “Yes Sir”

Wolfos: “Now, let the test begin. Form your team by yourself, and select your area among yourself. You have 3 hours to collect your ingredients and prepare your dish, and your time starts…now”

Everybody started making their team. Maria didn’t know what to do, but she was lucky that Jane asked her first to form a team. They quickly occupied a spot near the vegetables area. After that Maria and Jane went to get some fish, but the pond was already too much crowded, and all the fishing equipment had been taken. They were amazed to see that the pond was deeper than it seemed, many man were diving inside to catch fishes, crabs, shrimps, lobsters etc.…

Maria and Jane were shy to open their clothes and dive in the pond like other man, so they tried to catch fishes in the shallow water, but they were unsuccessful in doing so because all the fishes were diving into deep water due to the crowd. So, they had to wait to let the place be less crowded. After sometime, most of the teams had gone after getting their aquatic ingredients, only 3 teams were left in the pond trying to catch fish, and one of the teams was of Maria and Jane. One other team had a male member, so he dived in the pond and came out empty handed. Watching that, Jane asked out of curiosity…

Jane: “Is there any fish left?” (She asked the man who just got out after diving)

Man: “No, I think we are too late” (He said with a sad face)

That man swam out of the pond, dressed up and went out of the hall along with his lady team member with a gloomy face. Watching that, one other team which constituted of 2 females, stood up. One of the girl sighed…

Girl1: “This was my third year, yet I messed up”

Girl2: “This was my sixth year, last year I had better chance when I cleared two of the three tests”

Both of them walked out of the hall with a disappointed face. Watching the remaining two team losing their hope, Maria and Jane were also on the verge of despair…

Maria: {It can’t be happening, I have to get in the palace}

Jane: “No, No, No…I cannot loose in the first test, and not like this”

Tears were falling from her eyes, she was unable to find a way out of that. In that moment, she saw a ray of hope at a corner of the pond. There was a school of very small fishes swimming at a corner of the pond. Watching that she quickly wiped her tears and a smile appeared on her face…

Jane: “Maria, grab the fishing net”

Maria was confused on what she was asking, and why was she asking for that…

Maria: “What?” (Disbelieving tone)

Jane: “Look over there” (She pointed toward the school of fish)

Maria looked carefully in the direction where she was pointing and saw a school of very tiny fishes, which were at maximum few centimeters long. Maria also started smiling watching those school of fishes, she quickly grabbed a fishing net and while coming toward Jane, she spotted some snails stuck on the walls of the pond. She first gave the net to Jane, and moved toward the spot where she saw snails. Watching that, Jane asked out of curiousity…

Jane: “Where are you going?”

Maria: “I spotted some snails over there” (pointing toward the spot)

Jane: “Great” (She said with a smile)

Jane used the fishing net to catch the fishes and Maria collected all the snails. Now, there was only two hours left, so they started preparing the dish. Maria was busy cleaning up the fishes and snails, while Jane was getting vegetables and other ingredients, which she later prepared for using in the dish she was preparing. She was using a lots of tomato and green chilies for her dish. Maria was unable to figure out what Jane was preparing, she was only assisting in whatever Jane was preparing. Jane asked Maria to half fry the fishes and boil the snails, while she was busy in preparing a sauce of tomato and green chilies. After both the sauce was prepared, fishes were half fried and snails were boiled, Jane asked Maria to boil some potatoes and pull out the snails from their shell, and Jane herself started preparing the fishes with the sauce she prepared. She put the almost cooked fish away for some time, and she helped Maria to peel off the boiled potatoes. After they peeled off the potatoes, Jane asked Maria to lightly roast them, and she herself started preparing the snails with the sauce she prepared and with some herbs. After everything was prepared, Jane first placed some slices of the lightly roasted potatoes on the plate with some honey over that, over that she placed the fish prepared in her special sauce, and then she placed the snails at the outer edge in a circular fashion. By that time, they finished off their dish, it was already time. Chef Ruck was sitting to taste everyone’s dish, and one by one every team was being called to present their dish to Chef Ruck. It took some time for the Head chef to taste all the dishes, and after he was finished off with tasting the dishes, it was declared that the results would be declared after an hour. After an hour, a man came with a sheet having the list of teams who got selected for the next test, the list was rank wise i.e. it contained the list of best 30 teams from rank 1 (best team) to rank 30. That man glued the sheet on a wall, and once he left, everyone rushed toward to see the results. Maria and Jane also rushed to see the results, but it was too much crowded so they were unable to see anything. Once the people started leaving the place with a happy face or a sad face based on whatever result they received, Maria and Jane looked for their results. They looked in the sheet, but they were looking from the bottom and couldn’t find their names. Jane got disappointed when she couldn’t find her name, and she got out of the small crowd gathered there to see the result. Suddenly, Maria came from behind with a very happy face and hugged Jane. Jane couldn’t understand what she was happy about…

Jane: “Why are you so happy?”

Maria: “We qualified for the next round, that’s why”

Jane: “But, I didn’t see our name and I searched properly”

Maria: “Come with me”

Maria grabbed her wrist and took her to the show her the results…

Maria: “Look at the top”

Jane saw and was unable to believe what she was watching. Maria and she were at the number one spot. Watching that, Jane started crying out of happiness. The next test was going to be held the next day which was again going to be without sun, and for all the candidates who got selected for the next test were provided with accommodations.

 

**[Central Command]**

Everyone in the central command were gathered in an open ground inside the central command to see the exhibition fight between the Strong Arm Alchemist, Colonel Alex Louis Armstrong and the fourth Zhansi of Xing, Yang Gong. Fuehrer Grumman was sitting inside a shed along with Ling on special chairs, and all the 3 Generals present there were sitting beside him. The Elric brothers and Winry were also in the crowd to see the fight, because they never left after Oliver’s funeral due to the fact that Alphonse was called as the guest faculty for teaching alchemy. The area for the fight was almost 3 basketball court big. On one side Colonel Armstrong was preparing for the fight, he was wearing his gauntlets, and on the other side, the fourth Zhansi, Yang was checking scabbard and the sword inside it.  Alex had transmutation circle on his gauntlet to perform alchemy, and Yang had transmutation circle on the swords handle to perform alkahestry. The Xingese team were standing on Yang’s side, cheering for him, especially Mei, Yin and Xiao-Mei (the panda). Ling was also cheering for Yang even though he was sitting among the most powerful figures of Amestris. On the other side, Alex had the advantage of the home ground. He was being cheered by the whole crowd present there.

After few minutes, both the fighters entered inside the arena with their weapons equipped. They stood few feet away from each other…

Yang: “Nice to meet you Colonel Armstrong”

Alex: “Nice to meet you Sir” (Stoic tone)

Yang: “You don’t have to call me Sir”

Alex: “If you have the same status as a state alchemist in your country, then you must be having some title”

Yang: “Sorry to disappoint you, but we don’t have any titles. We just have ranks among the 12 Zhansi”

Alex: “And you are fourth if I am not wrong?”

Yang: “Yes”

Alex: “Then I don’t need to hold back” (He smiled)

Yang: “Before we start, let me tell you something…you are not going to win”

Alex: “We will see about that”

After saying that, Alex stripped off his shirt and started posing. Everyone from Xing were staring at him…

Yin: “WHAT IS HE DOING?” (Surprised tone)

Yang: “What are you doing?” (He asked confusingly to Alex)

Alex: “I am going to show you the strength that has passed down the Armstrong family line for generations, now get ready to taste it”

He rushed toward Yang after saying that, and started raining punches. The crowd started cheering once the fight started, and with that sudden move, Yang didn’t get time to process what was happening and started dodging those attacks…

Yang: {He is very fast for a man of his size}

He quickly slid under the legs of Alex and poked the back of knee with his scabbard. That move made Alex fall on one of his knees, and as soon as Alex fell on his knee, he punched the ground which made a protrusion from the ground, due to which Yang had to back down. Alex then turned around and looked at Yang who was surprised. Alex then punched the protrusion made by him, and some projectiles having the shape of Alex’s face started flying toward Yang. Watching those projectiles coming toward him, Yang used his scabbard to defend himself. As soon as he was finished off with the projectiles, he saw Alex was in front of him and landing a punch. Yang used his scabbard to block the attack, but the force from Alex’s punch, threw him to a little distance. Yin who was among the spectators couldn’t believe that her brother was being dominated…

Yin: “A mere state alchemist cannot dominate my brother!” (Surprised tone)

Alex maintained some distance from Yang, and didn’t attack him…

Alex: “Am I a tough opponent for you?”

Yang got angry and stood up properly, pointing his scabbard that contained his sword toward Alex…

Yang: “Looks like I also need to use some of my alkahestry” (He smiled)

Alex ran toward him, started raining punches at him. This time Yang quickly dodged all the attacks and made some distance between Alex and him. He then threw a kunai knife toward Alex but in a way that it won’t touch Alex. When the knife move passed Alex, and stuck on the ground, Alex thought Yang missed him…

Alex: “If you are trying to hit me with those knives, you have to try a little hard”

He then created many pillars using alchemy which made Yang’s movement difficult. Alex then punched some of the pillars to throw projectiles at Yang, and while Yang was busy in blocking and dodging the projectiles, Alex created a semicircular wall behind Yang to trap him, and he was successful in that. He then rushed toward Yang to land a punch, but before that, Yang threw a kunai knife between him and Alex, and quickly stuck his scabbard on the ground. With that, a wall protruded between him and Alex.

So, Alex punched the wall and created some projectiles flying toward Yang’s direction, but when he demolished the wall, he saw Yang was not present in that direction, and all the projectiles hit the wall that he made to trap Yang. In the meantime, Yang threw two more kunai knives in different direction, away from Alex. Fuehrer Grumman, who was sitting, enjoying the fight, couldn’t understand what was going on…

Grumman: “Why is he throwing knives on the ground and not at Colonel Armstrong?”

Roy: “I think he is going to use alkahestry”

Ling: “Yes, in fact, you are about to see a spectacular display of alkahestry right now”

In the meantime, Alex and Yang were fighting at close range. Yang couldn’t afford a single punch from Alex, because that would end the fight then and there. He was avoiding all the attacks by dodging and maintaining distance, instead of blocking them. He then threw one more kunai knife in some other direction, watching that Alex got curious…

Alex: “I guess you are up to something”

Yang quickly backed down to maintain a considerable distance between him and Alex…

Yang: “Your guess is absolutely correct”

He then stuck his scabbard on the ground, and sparks started appearing on the scabbard as well as on all the kunai knives placed by Yang at different locations. Now, Alex could see he was at the wrong location, all the kunai knives were placed at certain location to form the necessary points of a transmutation circle in order to channel the transmutation performed by Yang to that location.  So, Alex tried to run and get out of the circle, but he was too late to do so. Suddenly, lots of hands made of earth came out of the ground within that circle, and they were moving very flexibly. Yang was able to lengthen and shorten the length of those hands from a distance. All the hands then attacked Alex. Alex was using mostly his strength at that time to destroy the hands because everything was happening so fast that he was unable to think something. And every time he was destroying the hands, the hands were being recreated in an instant. Everyone in the crowd were amazed to see the view, initially they were rooting for their local hero because he was dominating, but now the tides had changed. Alex was struggling to defend himself. While he was destroying the hands, a big earth hand appeared from below and threw him in the air to few feet. Alex was now free falling, and getting the opportunity, Yang rushed and kicked Alex on his belly. Because of everything happened at that moment, there was dust everywhere, and after few moments everyone heard something big fell on the ground. Everyone, even Yang was under the impression that, it was Alex who fell on the ground, and they were not entirely incorrect about that. Soon, the dust cleared, and Alex was standing like a mountain as if nothing happened to him. He was standing in attacking stance, smiling at Yang, and Yang along with all the Xingese were staring at him with surprise…

Yang: “How can you be unaffected by that attack?”

Alex: “Well, it’s because of my strength and endurance, that has been passed down the Armstrong family line for generations”

He gave a starry smile after saying that. Both of them were again ready to fight, but before they could start it, they were interrupted by the Fuehrer…

Grumman: “That’s enough. Colonel Armstrong, the fourth Zhansi – Yang… it was a spectacular fight which you two showed out here”

He clapped to appreciate them, and the whole crowed clapped and cheered to praise their performance. Alex and Yang thanked the crowd and Fuehrer in their own way. After that they came closer to each other to shake hands. While shaking hands…

Yang: “So, it’s true what they say about state alchemists after all”

Alex: “I wonder what you can do with your sword”

Yang: “If I had taken out my sword, then it would have been a bloody fight”

Alex: “Thank you for not doing that, and for everything else…”

He hugged Yang with a surprise…

Alex: “This is the love of the great Armstrong family”

He was hugging Yang too tightly, pressing him against his bare sweaty chest. This thing annoyed Yang, but he was unable to get out of Alex’s big arms, and the crowd was laughing looking at the scene…

Yang: “LEAVE ME…”


	13. Desperation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Othon (Capital of Drachma), Maria goes through the second test at the palace for temporary staff selection, which is a bouquet making competition. Meanwhile in Central City, while Roy is having an informal conversation with Ling in Central Park, they are attacked by a group of Ishvalans associated with IFF (Ishvalan Freedom Front, trying to make Ishval a free country) led by Richard (Maths teacher of Oliver, who kidnapped him). Somehow when Richard and his allies are captured, they reveal their true intentions. On the other side, in Cameron (Hometown of Riza) we get to know why the town is so less populated and what is the history behind the lake when Krid (Blind Chimera) tells the story to Oliver.

**[Othon – Drachma]**

A day had passed in Othon since the first test for the selection of temporary staffs. The candidates were gathering at the garden, Maria and Jane were also tagging along…

Maria: “So, what kind of test this can be?”

Jane: “I don’t have a clue, every time the tests are changed. But, whatever it maybe, I am definitely going to clear it” (Excited tone)

Maria looked at Jane, her eyes were sparkling with excitement…

Maria: “Jane, if you won’t mind, can I ask you a question?”

Jane: “Sure”

Maria: “Why are you so determined to become a staff here?”

Jane: “I don’t just want to become a staff. One day I want to become the Head of Staff…My grandfather was once the Head of Staff here, and he felt proud to serve in this palace. He used to tell us the stories of our first King, Ivanov the first. Centuries ago, Drachma was just a small country, out of which Amestris took some part in the first battle between Drachma and Amestris, and they built a wall to separate Amestris from Drachma. After some years of the war, Ivanov the first appeared and united other small neighboring countries either by defeating the tyrant rulers or by making friends. For decades, he kept on doing that in order to save the other poor countries by sharing the wealth of rich countries. Soon, the small Drachma became very huge, in fact now it is the largest country in the world. Eventually, all the remaining kings voted him to be the sole king of Drachma, because he was the one who united all of them. My grandfather felt pride in working at the palace, where once Ivanov the first lived, and I also want to do the same by serving the place where the greatest king ever lived”

Maria: “That’s a nice dream”

A man came to the garden to give further instruction for the next test. He informed them to reach Hall G in an hour for the next test. He left after saying that, and as soon as he left, all the candidates present there moved toward Hall G. Everyone reached Hall G in just 15 minutes, but the Hall was closed as expected. After sometime when the hall opened, everyone entered inside. Inside they saw the hall was filled with different kind of flowers, and the floor was regular soil and mud where one could easily find weeds grown. After few minutes, the Head of Staff, Yegor Netto walked into Hall G, and stood on the platform created for him. He took a mike and spoke…

Yegor: “Congratulations to all of you who made it to here, but unfortunately for some of you, the journey will end here. Only 30 candidates will advance to the final test, that doesn’t mean the remaining 30 who won’t advance are not good, it means that you still have room to improve your skills and amaze us next year…Now, for the test. As you can see there are lots of flowers in this room, and each flower as well as each color has some significance. In this test, all you have to do is to create a bouquet using at maximum 6 things in this room, if any bouquet exceeds 6 things, the person will be disqualified. And you have 1 hour to create your best bouquet, which means you cannot take flowers from the stalls after one hour. The bouquet which will have the best combinations and significance will win this test. Every one of you will be given a chance to explain why you designed a bouquet in the way you designed it, and what does your bouquet signifies. Remember, the most basic requirement of a bouquet is, it should look good. Also, if you try to mess up the flowers for other candidates, you will be disqualified…Now let the test begin”

When the test began, every candidate in the hall started moving toward the flowers, while Jane and Maria stood at their positions…

Jane: “Only 6 things to make the bouquet, why didn’t he say 6 flowers?”

Maria: “Maybe we can create a bouquet without even using any flower, or even the thing with which…”

Jane: “we are going to tie the flowers are even counted among those 6 things”

Jane completed Maria’s sentence. Both of them looked excitedly toward each other…

Jane: “Let’s make a damn good flower bouquet Maria”

Maria: “Let’s do it”

Jane: “Don’t you dare loose here” (She grinned)

Maria: “It won’t happen” (She grinned)

Both of them then separated to make their own bouquet. As the test was an individual evaluation, they couldn’t work as a team here like the last time they did. Everyone in that room was busy designing their own bouquet with full dedication. Jane went to a flower stall and picked up a yellowish flower and a maroon flower with thorny stem. Then she went to another stall and picked up a bluish flower with little leaves on its stem, and a red striped yellow flower with a thick stem. She then used a blue ribbon to tie all the flowers together. On the other side, Maria didn’t know about the history of Drachma in detail as Jane did. So, she decided to make a bouquet with a very generic meaning. She went to a flower stall and picked up 5 tulips of different colors i.e. pink, red, yellow, white and blue. Then she tied all the flowers with a white ribbon. She was prepared with her bouquet, so she went to Jane to have a look at Jane’s bouquet. She found out that Jane was still trying to figure out something, but she was struggling in that…

Maria: “Are you done with your bouquet?”

Jane looked at Maria with a little disappointed look…

Maria: “What are you so worried about? (Concerned tone) Your bouquet looks really good”

Jane: “I don’t know, I feel like I am missing something…Anyways tell me about your bouquet”

Maria: “It won’t be as good as yours, as you can see all the tulips are different looking in a lot of ways, but they are all tulips at the end, the white ribbon represents one as we all know that white is the mixture of all colors or we can say all colors are part of white color. Similarly, this bouquet represents diversity as well as similarity at the same time”

Jane: “That’s quite nice”

Maria: “What about your bouquet?”

Jane: “Well, I selected four flowers which grow only in certain specific parts of Drachma. So, my flowers represent east, west, north and south area of Drachma, and the blue ribbon represents unity which was achieved by Ivanov the first”

Maria: “Amazing, you know so much about Drachma, how can you possibly know which flower grows in which area?” (Praising tone)

Jane: “Stop your flattery Maria, you cannot outclass me like that” (Mocking tone)

Jane and Maria started laughing, and the time window ended at that time. Both were happy that they prepared their best bouquet, the rest was up to the Head of Staff. After few minutes, evaluation started. After few candidates, Jane was called for evaluation. While Jane was going for evaluation, she was worried that her bouquet was still missing something, and she was unable to figure out that. On the way, she saw a small weed flower with white petals and yellow center had grown just below one of the flower stalls. Suddenly a smile appeared on her face, and she went and plucked that weed flower. She put the weed flower at the center of her bouquet, in between the other flowers. She then went toward the judge with confidence…

Yegor: “So, Jane is it?”

Jane: “Yes Sir”

Yegor looked at her bouquet…

Yegor: “Hmmm…Let me guess what your bouquet tell” (He smiled)

Jane was a bit nervous, still she didn’t had an option to say no…

Jane: “Sure Sir” (Nervous tone)

Yegor: “So, the yellowish daisy represents hope, bluish morning glory represents love, tiger lily represents purity, the maroon tulip represents passion, and a carrot weed flower? That’s pretty unique, to use a weed flower among four beautiful flowers…Hmm, so….your bouquet says, if we unite and share our knowledge and skills with others, we can help rise even the weak. Am I close?” (He smiled)

Jane: “That was a nice interpretation sir, but I wanted to represent something else” (Hesitant tone)

Yegor: “I knew it (cursing tone)…so what does your bouquet says?”

Jane: “All the different flowers in the bouquet grows only in certain states of Drachma. The Yellowish daisy grows in the west, the maroon tulip grows in the north, the bluish morning glory grows in the south and the tiger lily grows in the east. So, all the different colorful flowers in my bouquet represents different regions of Drachma”

Yegor was focused on what she was saying, he was smiling because of the knowledge she was displaying at that moment…

Jane: “Regarding the carrot weed flower, it holds a story of its own. When Ivanov the first came to Othon for the first time, it was a very poor village, people were so desperate that they were ready to do anything for a loaf of bread. Our king tried to distribute his food to all the people in Othon, but he had his army to look upon too. He understood that it was impossible for him to feed all the mouths just by temporarily giving some food to the people. So, he decided to stay in Othon until he turns that place into heaven. He cared this place as his own child, he started creating houses for the people, provided them the resources to hunt, cultivate and travel to nearby villages. Because of this, the people started loving him and one day to thank our king, all the people of Othon gathered in front of his home with carrot weed flowers in their hands. Everyone was holding a single carrot weed flower because that was the only thing that bloomed in that village when it was poor. They considered the flower a ray of hope, and our King was their hope. So, the carrot weed flower in my bouquet represents our first king, and the hope of whole Drachma, Ivanov the first. The blue ribbon represents unity that our king achieved by uniting different countries to make them a single country which is now called Drachma”

After listening to Jane, Yegor took a deep breath…

Yegor: “You truly know our history, and after understanding the meaning of your bouquet. I think it is one of the best bouquet I have seen till now”

Jane: “Thank you Sir”

She was so happy after receiving the comment that she wanted to shout out of happiness, but she held it at that moment. Her evaluation ended with that positive comment, and after few more evaluations, Maria’s turn came. Maria was nervous about the bouquet she created, she was walking toward the judge when she noticed that one of the petals of the red tulip had fallen. So, she touched the center of the flower, and as soon as she touched it, the remaining petals of the red tulip fell on the ground. Watching that, Maria panicked, she couldn’t understand what she should do. When she was unable to find a solution she tucked the withered red tulip below the other tulips, making it look like the stem was used to tie other flowers together. She was able to solve the look of the bouquet, and she was lucky that the meaning she created for the bouquet did not change even after one flower withered. She walked toward the judge with a bit of satisfaction that she was able to solve the issue…

Yegor: “So, we meet again Maria…you cleared the first test, and that even by becoming the topper. It was a right decision to give you the opportunity to appear for the test after all”

Maria: “Thank you sir” (She said with a smile)

Yegor: “Now, let us see whether you are worthy enough to get to the next test or not”

Yegor looked at the bouquet for some moment…

Yegor: “Hmm…all tulips? The bouquet looks good with a good combinations of color even though the flowers are same…good work. Now let me interpret your bouquet, stop me if I stop making sense” (he smiled)

Maria: “Sure sir” (She said with a chuckle)

Yegor: “Hmm…so there are four different kind of tulips, maybe they represent five different brothers, the pink one represents a happy person who enjoys every moment of his life, yellow represents the person who is a thinker, who takes each step in life very carefully. Blue is mysterious like the depth of the sea, this person doesn’t share their intentions…now white represents the honorable of them all. But, then I saw a withered flower holding all the flowers together, I guess, that is the mother who sacrifices herself to hold her family together. Am I interpreting it correct till now Maria?”

Maria was amazed that the Head of staff interpreted her bouquet very differently. She felt that the current interpretation was better than her interpretation of the bouquet. So, she thought it would be a good idea to go with Yegor’s interpretation…

Maria: “That’s very much accurate sir”

Yegor: “WHAT! I interpreted it correctly…looks like I have improved after interpreting so many bouquets (He smiled)…Well, I was unable to figure out the significance of the white ribbon. Can you please explain this?”

Maria was trapped, she thought going along with Yegor was the right decision, but now that Yegor asked a question whose base was created by himself, Maria was trying to figure out an answer which would align with his interpretation. And fortunately, she quickly came up with a decent answer…

Maria: “The white ribbon represents the father, he is also trying to hold his family by helping the mother. As you can see the mother is a tulip, but she is a different kind of tulip, while the father is white which contains all the colors, part of which his children inherited”

Yegor: “Nice”

Yegor seemed like he was impressed by her answer, and with that Maria’s evaluation ended. After some time, the evaluation process finished and the candidates were waiting for the results. Many candidates were very sad, when Maria and Jane tried to find out the reason, they found out that they were disqualified for using more than 6 things in the bouquet. They were still hopeful that they would be given one more chance because of their huge number. Soon the result came, but this time there were two lists, one with the candidates who qualified for the next test and other with the list of candidates who did not qualify, and the reason behind their rejection. Maria and Jane first saw the rejection list, and found out that 25 out of the 30 rejected candidates were disqualified due to the use of more than 6 things in the bouquet. They felt relaxed that their name was not on that list, which meant they qualified for the next test. Then they had a look into the other list of qualified candidates, and again Jane was the number one on the list. Maria was also expecting to be in the upper half of the list, but she wasn’t there. She looked down and down the list, still she couldn’t find her name. Then she saw number thirty, and there she was. She was embarrassed…

Maria: “Looks like I qualified only due to heavy disqualifications” (She laughed hesitantly)

Jane: “Doesn’t matter, you are still going to the next test. Let’s celebrate” (She smiled)

 

 

 

**[Central City]**

Ling and others had decided to stay in Amestris for some more days after the meeting ended. It was evening, and he was wandering with Roy in the park where the war memorial was constructed which was filled with various trees and flowers. As usual, Roy had Riza as his personal assistant/ bodyguard, and two more soldiers just because he was a Major General now. Similarly, Ling had the 2 Zhansi, Lan Fan and Hu Zemin (Political advisor) with him, Mei had gone to meet the Elric brothers and Winry who were in Central because Alphonse was invited as a guest faculty for teaching alchemy, Winry and Ed also tagged along to pay a visit to some old friends, but unfortunately they were first called to attend Oliver’s funeral. So, while Ling and Roy were walking…

Ling: “Looks like you resolved your Ishval issue after all”

Roy: “There is still some work needed to be done”

Ling: “I have heard that you are the most powerful state alchemist of them all?”

Roy: “Well, what can I say” (He said while laughing)

Ling: “What do you think Major Hawkeye? Is he the most powerful state alchemist? You have seen all the state alchemists, and you know General Mustang very well, so I guess you are the best person to make a judgement” (Looking toward Riza)

Riza: “There is no doubt that flame alchemy is the most destructive alchemy, but if you ask me about the most powerful state alchemist then I don’t think he is the one, because General Mustang lacks in hand to hand combat ability. Also, he is pretty useless in rain”

Hearing that Ling started laughing…

Roy: “You are very cruel Major” (Pitiful tone)

Suddenly, they saw something dropped near Yin’s feet, who was walking in front of Ling wearing her mask. It was an unpinned grenade which was going to explode. Yin quickly threw a kunai knife in random direction, away from their group and pulled out a sword like looking thing from her back. That thing turned out be an umbrella when she opened it and placed its handle on the ground and covered the grenade with it, the canopy of the umbrella had a transmutation circle drawn on it. She then pressed the umbrella, making the handle short, fully covering the grenade. When the grenade exploded, the explosion actually happened at some distance where she threw the knife. Watching that Roy asked…

Roy: “What was that?” (Amazed tone)

Yin: “I transferred the explosion energy from that grenade to the place where I threw the knife”

Everyone was on guard due to that incident. Suddenly, Richard (Math’s teacher who kidnapped Oliver) along with some other Ishvalans rushed out of the bushes in front of the group and started firing bullets toward the group. Yin quickly stretched her umbrella and used it as shield between the Ishvalans and the others. None of the bullet were able to put a dent on the umbrella, the bullets were falling on the ground as soon as they came in contact with the umbrella. In the meantime, Riza was firing shots at the Ishvalans and Yang was defending others by putting a wall before them. Riza had shot 2 Ishvalans in their legs due to which they were unable to move anymore. Still there were 5-6 more Ishvalans with Richard who were rushing toward them while firing bullets from their rifle. Lan Fan was fighting on her own, while Ling, Hu and Roy were sitting behind the wall. Riza looked toward Roy while hiding behind a wall created by Yang…

Riza: “Shall we kill them?”

Roy: “No, it will worsen the image of the military in front of other Ishvalans”

Yang: “Killing would have been much easier”

When Riza heard the reloading of the rifles, she moved out of the wall and shot one Ishvalan on his legs. In the meantime, one other Ishvalan was going to fire toward Riza’s direction, so Riza again hid behind the wall expecting a gunshot. But, she didn’t hear any. When she looked out of the wall, she saw all the Ishvalans and Richard were on the ground with kunai knives stuck on their hands. Ling, Hu and Roy also stood up to see the scene…

Ling: “Looks like the women have finished the job”

When everybody thought, everything was under control, Roy saw few Ishvalans who were unable to walk, were trying to reach to their guns by crawling toward them. Roy snapped, and a streak of fire appeared at that park, burning all the rifles which were on the ground. The streak which Roy created, went just beside Yin’s shoulder, which jump scared her. She opened her mask and looked toward Roy…

Yin: “WHAT WAS THAT FOR? AND WHO DID THAT?”

Roy and the other two Amestrian soldiers were looking at her face, without replying anything…

Yin: “All men are equal (Low tone)…I AM ASKING SOMETHING”

Roy coughed…

Roy: “I did it”

Yin: “May I know why?”

Roy: “Well, Thaaa…”

Riza interrupted in between…

Riza: “He burnt off the rifles because two of the militants were trying to reach for them. It was just a precautionary measure”

Roy and the other two soldiers were still startled. Ling went near Roy and put his hand on Roy’s shoulder…

Ling: “Don’t worry man, I can understand” (Empathizing tone)

Roy got embarrassed, he was unable to speak anything…

Riza: “General, we need to call the Central Command”

Roy was amazed to find jealousy in her tone, he looked surprisingly at her, but he didn’t reply. So, Riza had to repeat herself…

Riza: “General!”

Roy: “Yeah, sure”

He looked toward the two soldiers standing there…

Roy: “You (pointing toward one soldier), go and inform the Central Command what happened here. And tell them to send some men to arrest some IFF operatives”

The soldier ran to the nearest telephone booth to call Central Command, and Roy moved toward Richard who was wounded and sitting on the ground, glaring at Roy. When Roy reached near Richard, he looked at Richard for some moment before speaking…

Roy: “An Amestrian fighting along the IFF…there is only one such person according to my recent knowledge. As a matter of fact, I saw you with the leader of IFF in a photograph…Do you happen to be my son’s maths teacher, Mr. Richard Green?”

He said while glaring at Richard, and removing his gloves. Riza was standing behind Roy listening to all the conversation going on…

Richard: “Yes”

As soon as Richard said “Yes”, Roy punched him hard on his face which made him fall on the ground. Roy was about to hit Richard on his face again, but before that Riza interrupted…

Riza: “General don’t”

When Roy heard that, he stopped instantly…

Roy: “You shouldn’t have dragged my personal life into your meaningless war”

Roy then turned around and was about to go. In the meantime, Richard sat up…

Richard: “General Mustang, haven’t you heard the old saying? Everything is fair in love and war…At least we are better than you. We never hurt your son, and we even promised his safe return once our demand is met. But, what you do? You create monsters using your evil alchemy, and use them to do your dirty work. First you created philosopher stone by killing innocents, then you created chimeras, and now you have created something more ungodly, so that you can wipe out anyone who stands against your tyranny”

Riza: “We have nothing to do with the incident which took place at the warehouse”

Richard: “Do you even tell those kind of things to every Ishvalan when you meet them? Even though you killed lots of unarmed Ishvalans in their homeland”

Everyone from Xing were listening to their conversation, still they didn’t think to interfere because it was Amestris’ private matter. Meanwhile, some soldiers from the Central Command had reached there. They arrested all the militants of IFF and took them to jail. Ling and his team also went to the hotel they were staying in, accompanied by 2 Amestrian soldiers. After everyone was gone from the park, Roy and Riza got inside their car. Riza sat on the driver seat and Roy was sitting beside her. Roy sighed…

Roy: “Today turned out be a rough day”

Riza: “Yes”

Roy then looked toward Riza and smirked…

Riza: “Why are you smirking?”

Roy: “I am going to ask you a question, and I expect only the truth from you”

Riza: “What?”

Roy: “Weren’t you jealous when I was looking at Yin?”

Riza: “I was not” (Stoic tone)

Roy: “I thought you never get jealous when you see me with other women, but here we are”

Riza: “I would very much appreciate if you stop this conversation right now, General Roy Mustang” (Annoyed tone)

Roy: “Don’t worry Major Hawkeye, you just need to smile very often, and you look much prettier than Yin”

Riza couldn’t control the smile appearing on her face when she heard that. When she smiled, Roy saw her…

Roy: “Just like that” (He smiled)

 

**[Cameron – East Area]**

Thomas (Chief of IFF) was awake, and was standing outside the hospital talking with a nurse wearing his regular clothes. He saw Oliver was coming toward him along with his newly made friends, but he was looking at them as if he was seeing them for the first time…

Oliver: “How are you feeling Mr. Maxwell?”

Thomas: “Sorry kid, you might know me but I don’t recognize you” (Guilty tone)

Oliver and all the kids looked toward the nurse. The nurse sighed before replying…

Nurse: “I also found about it when he woke up. According to the Doctor, due to heavy damage to his head, he has lost his memories”

All the kids: “WHAT?”

Nurse: “Hey… stop shouting. He had already severe head injury before coming here, he is lucky that he only suffered a memory loss. This could have been worse”

Oliver: “Sorry Ma’am” (Guilty tone)

The nurse sighed and tousled Oliver’s hair...

Nurse: “You don’t need to say sorry. You all have done a great a job by bringing this man here when he was in need of dire help. You all are heroes”

She smiled looking toward all of them, and all the kids were blushing…

Thomas: “Yes, thank you very much for saving my life. I can’t possibly imagine how I can ever repay you?”

All the kids looked toward Thomas…

Alvin: “Oh please, it was our duty as a human being” (He said while smiling and with a shy tone)

Oliver: “Mr. Maxwell don’t you even remember me?”

Thomas: “I am unable to remember anything. I only know that my name is Thomas Maxwell and I am an Ishvalan just because the nurse told me”

Nurse: “Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go”

Thomas: “Sure nurse, and thank you for everything”

She smiled and went inside the hospital…

Thomas looked toward Oliver…

Thomas: “Oliver”

Oliver: “Yes”

Thomas: “Can you please tell me how do you know me? It might help me remember something”

Oliver didn’t want to speak badly of Thomas so, he decided to tell him only the good stuffs

Oliver: “Well, you were trying to protect me from a monster when you got hurt, then your friends helped me and you to get on a train which led us here”

Thomas laughed out loudly…

Thomas: “A monster?” (He said while laughing)

All the other four kids slapped there hand on their forehead…

Kids: “Stupid” (Low tone)

Reggie: “I think Oliver has also lost his memory about the incident”

Oliver: “I am speaking the truth. Why none of you are believing me?” (Desperate tone)

Harvey: “Because monsters are not real” (Annoyed tone)

Oliver got angry and went away from there. Watching that Isa and Alvin went to stop him…

Isa, Alvin: “Oliver stop”

Thomas: “He is just a kid, you shouldn’t treat him like that”

Harvey: “I am also not that old”

Thomas: “Well, you are older than him at least”

Harvey: “That’s why I am teaching him to identify what is real, and what is not”

Thomas sighed and placed his hands on Harvey’s shoulder…

Thomas: “Let’s get our little monster hunter”

Harvey sighed…

Harvey: “Okay”

Harvey, Reggie and Thomas went on the way where Oliver went. After sometime, Oliver, Isa and Alvin reached the lake, they saw Krid was sitting under the Olive tree like the day before. They went to him…

Alvin, Isa: “Hey Mr. Novak”

Krid was still looking toward the lake…

Krid: “Hey kids, aren’t you going to play the game today?”

Alvin: “No, today we are busy with something else” (Looking toward Oliver)

Oliver: “Mr. Novak”

Krid: “Yes Oliver”

Oliver: “Are monsters real?”

Krid: “Hmm, well if you consider people like me monster, then yes they do exist”

Oliver: “Not chimeras, real monsters”

Krid: “Oliver, come here”

Oliver went near Krid…

Krid: “Sit”

Oliver sat beside Krid. Isa and Alvin also joined them…

Krid: “Let me tell you a story, a real story. AND YOU THREE CAN ALSO SIT WITH US”

He felt the presence of Harvey, Reggie and Thomas at a distance, so he called them to sit with others. Harvey and others went near Krid and sat there…

Krid: “Who is the other person?”

Harvey: “This is Mr. Thomas Maxwell, remember the person we told you about whom we saved?”

Krid: “Yes”

Harvey: “Well, this is him, and he lost his memory”

Krid: “That’s very unfortunate. Well, now that we can’t do anything about that, why don’t you join us Mr. Maxwell till your memory returns”

Thomas: “I think I don’t have a clue on where to go, now that I can’t remember anything. I guess I have to adhere to your advice Mr.…?”

Krid: “It’s only Krid for you”

In the meantime, Thomas noticed the clouded eyes of Krid, but he didn’t ask him anything, and joined the other children to listen to the story which Krid was going to tell…

Krid: “So, I was going to tell a story”

Isa, Alvin: “YES”

Oliver was still sulking over the fact that no one believed him…

Krid: “Okay. So, let me ask you some questions before telling you the story…Do any of you know why Cameron has so less population?”

Nobody replied for some time…

Krid: “I take it as no then…Now, do any of you know about the war which was fought in Cameron?”

Harvey: “I have heard that a war was fought in this town more than 200 years ago, but that’s all I know”

Krid: “Well, it was not just a normal war, it is considered as the bloodiest war in the history of mankind… Long ago, Cameron was one of the major cities of the then Amestris which was still busy expanding its territory by capturing the neighboring countries. This place was inhabited by some new Amestrian settlers and the locals of Cameron, after Cameron became a part of Amestris. Everything was going well, until one day an Amestrian man fell in love with a local Cameron woman. They both were young and wanted to marry each other, and everyone in Cameron was happy for them even though the new settlers and locals had little differences. Everyone in the city contributed for the wedding, but when the wedding day came, the man disappeared. The locals started blaming the new settlers saying that all the Amestrians are cheats just like the man who promised the woman to marry her. In return, the Amestrians blamed the locals by saying that they were the ones who disappeared the man, they even said that the locals killed the man because they were never in support of the marriage. The feud got out of control when accidentally a local killed one of the Amestrians who happened to be a royalty. Because of this, the Amestrian government sent military troops to Cameron and punished few innocent people because no one knew the real culprit. This thing enraged the local people, and they killed some soldiers, due to which the government punished some more locals. This cycle of revenge, took the shape of a war, a very ugly war in all human history. The lake which you see in front of us was red because of the amount of blood flowed into it during the war. The place where we are sitting right now was piled up with dead bodies, and all this started just because of some misunderstandings”

Harvey: “So this is where the red lake war happened?”

Krid: “Yes. So, Oliver, did you understand who the monsters here were?”

Oliver kept on figuring out the answer to that question, whereas Harvey responded…

Harvey: “The Amestrian soldiers?”

Krid: “No”

Harvey: “But, they were the ones who killed the innocents”

Krid: “The real monsters here were anger, hate, revenge, and all these things are inside our brain. The war could have never happened if they had worked together to find out the real reason why the man disappeared, instead of blaming each other. The mistake was from both the sides, and neither of the side admitted the mistake was theirs, which led to the disastrous war. And because of the ugly war, people started leaving this place, very few people ever liked to come here…Now, Oliver stop getting angry with your friends and hug them to sort it out”

Oliver: “But, nobody believed me even though I told them the truth”

Krid: “Reggie, Isa, Alvin, Harvey…you should believe him when he is telling you the truth, you know?” (He smiled)

Harvey: “Bu…”

Krid: “Oliver is like a small brother to all of you, so you should love him…and Oliver can show you alchemy”

Kids: “WHAT!”

Everyone looked at Oliver…

Reggie: “YOU KNOW ALCHEMY?”

Oliver: “Yes, I do” (Shy tone)

Isa, Alvin: “Awesome”

Isa: “Show us” (excited tone)

Oliver got happy when everyone showed interest in watching alchemy…

Oliver: “Let’s go over there, I need to make a transmutation circle to show you alchemy. I can also show you alkahestry”

Harvey: “What is that?”

Oliver: “That’s a different kind of alchemy used by people of Xing”

Alvin: “Xing?”

Oliver: “That’s a country in the far east, on the other side of the Great Desert”

Alvin: “You are so awesome man”

Oliver started blushing when everyone started praising him. He and all the kids moved to a location with less grass, so that Oliver could show them alchemy. While Oliver was busy showing alchemy to other kids, Thomas was sitting beside Krid, looking toward the lake…

Thomas: “Even though a war was fought here, this place still feels very peaceful”

Krid: “Indeed”

Thomas: “So, do you live here with someone?”

Krid: “These kids are all I know as close to a friend or family…What about you? What are you going to do now?”

Thomas sighed…

Thomas: “I can’t remember anything, and I am surrounded by kids who are my only hope as of now, and if loosing memory is not enough, I am an Ishvalan too”

Krid: “Yes, Ishvalan are being seen differently after the war”

Thomas: “I can’t even remember about the war or anything about the community I belong to. I hope someone is searching for me”

Krid: “Now, if you will excuse me, I need to start my dinner preparation”

Krid stood up…

Thomas: “Can I ask you a question?”

Krid: “Sure”

Thomas: “The story you told us…in that story, what actually happened to the man who disappeared?”

Krid: “Nothing…because he was a monster all along”

Krid left after saying that.

 

**[Central Command – Interrogation room]**

Richard was sitting on a chair with a rectangular table in front of him. He was being handcuffed so that he could not do any uncertain activities. Sometime later, Roy entered inside the room along with Jean Havoc and Riza. Roy sat on the chair opposite to Richard whereas Riza and Jean stood behind him…

Roy: “Hello Richard…I thought you to be a smart person considering the plan you executed to kidnap my son, but I didn’t know, you would become so desperate to kill me and the prince of Xing in daylight while we were being heavily guarded”

Richard: “Despair gives birth to desperation, Mustang. I thought the military would have stopped doing the unholy experiments, but it turns out to be just another misunderstanding after all…You must be proud of your monster, now that it did a great job by butchering and mutilating so many Ishvalans”

Roy seemed like he was annoyed by Richard…

Roy: “I told you earlier, the military had no involvement with the attack” (Slightly angry tone)

Richard: “Why would I believe you?”

Roy: “BECAUSE NOBODY IN THE MILITARY KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT THE DAMN MONSTER”

Richard carefully looked into Roy’s eyes…

Richard: “You are looking very desperate, General Mustang. Is it because of your son?”

Roy took a deep breath to compose his anger…

Roy: “Listen Richard, we are trying to save Ishval. If you continue to provoke people and spread violence, then it’s just a matter of time, we will be in war again”

Richard smiled…

Richard: “Mustang, have you heard the story of the crocodile and the monkey?”

Roy: “No”

Richard: “There was a big plum tree in between a river and a monkey used to live in that tree. He was happy spending his life in the tree, eating plums, but he never wanted to go into the river because he didn’t know how to swim. Gradually, all the plums ended in that tree and the monkey didn’t know what to do. Getting this opportunity, once a crocodile who was living in the river, came near the tree and told the monkey that he knew a different plum tree which produces more tasty plums, and all the monkey had to do was to ride his back and he would take the monkey there. The monkey trusted him and rode his back, and he took the monkey to the middle of the river where it was impossible to run away… Do you know what happened to the monkey after that?”

Roy: “The crocodile ate him” (Stressed tone)

Richard: “Yes, it was too late for the monkey, he trusted someone who claimed to be his savior, but that someone turned out to be just an opportunist. And that’s the same thing you want to do for the Ishvalans. You are giving them false hopes of a better future. But, when you will see fit, you will again slaughter them, torment them” (Angry tone)

Roy: “It is useless talking to you about peace when you have already made up your mind. Let’s talk something different…Where is Thomas Maxwell?”

Richard: “If I had known that, I would have never been here. I don’t even know where the remaining soldiers are? Are they alive? Are they dead? Who knows? All I saw was the body parts of many of my comrades”

Richard glared at Roy, and after few moments he smirked which followed by a loud laugh. Everyone in the room was confused by his activity…

Roy: “Why are you laughing?” (Concerned tone)

Richard stopped laughing and replied…

Richard: “Do you want to know how desperate I am, General Mustang?”

Roy: “What do you mean?”

Richard: “I mean, you were correct about me being a smart man. I didn’t want to execute this plan, but now I don’t see any other options”

Riza: “What plan?” (Anxious tone)

Richard: “Before attacking you, I sent some of my comrades with explosives to various part of the city. Until you and your dear Fuehrer agree to make Ishval a free country, you will listen explosions every half an hour…and that celebration will be starting anytime now” (He finished the sentence with a smile)

Everyone in the room was panicked when they heard Richard…

Roy: “So, now you are going to target the innocent civilians?” (Stressed tone)

Richard: “Didn’t the military killed innocent Ishvalans when they attacked Ishval? Then how come we are different from you, General Mustang?”

Roy was unable to answer his question…

Richard: “The war which started many years back never actually ended, and it won’t be over until justice is done”

Everyone in the interrogation room was panicked. They never thought IFF would be so desperate that they would not hesitate to kill innocent civilians. 


	14. Disappointment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed finds Roy's lost book (passed by Berthold Hawkeye to Roy after his death, mentioned in chapter 1) in a pawn shop. The book's name is "The Knight" which Ed suspects as a hidden alchemical note just like Dr. Macoh's notes. Ed and Al try to interpret various things in the book, but suddenly an explosion occurs in the nearby building. When they go to help the victims, they encounter an IFF operative who turns out to be a chimera, and Ed chases and fights him. Meanwhile, Roy and his team are making plan to tackle the terrorist activity, when they are unexpectedly visited by Fuehrer Grumman. On the other side, in Othon (capital of Drachma), Maria goes through the final test for temporary staff selection , and she learns about Ivanov, the Tenth (Former King of Drachma) and his reign during the process.

**[Central City]**

Alphonse, Winry, Mei and Xiao-Mei were in the hotel where the Elric brothers were staying for somedays. They were sitting on the sofa, having some snacks and talking about their life after the events promise day. Mei was sitting too close to Alphonse, holding his arm, and Alphonse was uncomfortable because of that…

Mei: “Oh Alphonse, I missed you so much”

Alphonse was looking at Winry, who was trying to hold her laugh. Alphonse wanted to get out of that awkward situation, and everybody knew that he was incapable of being rude to anyone, so he was stuck in that awkward situation, unable to decide what to do. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and Alphonse stood up quickly…

Alphonse: “I think its brother”

Alphonse was so happy getting out of that awkward situation, and watching Alphonse’s reaction to the knock, Winry replied even though Alphonse could see her trying hard to control her laugh…

Winry: “Yes, yes, it should be Ed” (Laughing tone)

Mei couldn’t help but notice Winry…

Mei: “Why are you holding your laugh Winry? For your information, Alphonse and I are boyfriend and girlfriend”

Hearing that, Winry couldn’t control her laugh anymore and started laughing out loudly. And as soon as Alphonse heard what Mei said, his face went red instantly and he ran quickly toward the door. He then open the door, and as expected Ed was standing there holding a book with brown cover and BH written over it at the lower right corner. He was wearing his favorite red cloak as usual…

Ed: “Hey Al, sorry I took some time at a pawn shop buying this book”

Al: “It’s all right brother” (He replied with a smile)

Ed noticed Al was blushing for some reason, and Winry was laughing out loudly inside. So he asked him…

Ed: “What happened Al? Why is your face appearing red? And why is Winry laughing so loud?”

Because of Ed’s questions, Al was startled and stood stiff before replying…

Al: “Mei is here” (Hesitant tone)

Ed: “Do you mean the Xingese girl with that little cat?”

Al: “That’s a panda brother”

Ed: “Alright, panda”

Ed and Al walked inside the room where others were sitting, and saw Winry, Mei and Xiao-Mei sitting on the sofa having some snacks. Winry stopped laughing when she saw Ed. When Mei saw Ed, she greeted him…

Mei: “Hello Edward”

Ed: “Hey Mei, are Ling and Lan Fan also here?”

Mei: “No, they had a meeting with General Mustang, so they couldn’t come”

Ed: “I see…well it’s good to see you Mei” (He said with a smile)

When Ed only showed concern to Mei, Xiao-Mei glared at Ed. Watching that Ed had to show some concern…

Ed: “You too …aaa…hmmm…”

Ed was trying to remember Xiao-Mei’s name, and Al noticed that…

Al: “Its Xiao-Mei brother”

Ed: “Yes, It’s good to see you too Xiao-Mei”

Xiao-Mei got happy when she heard that. Ed and Al then sat on the sofa, joining others. Ed put the book he brought, on the small table in front of the sofa. Winry looked at the book and picked it up. She opened the book and saw the first page, where she could see the title of the book and a signature at the right corner of the book. Winry read the title of the book while everyone was resting on the sofa or having snacks…

Winry: “‘The Knight’ …Is it some fairy tale book?”

Ed looked at Winry…

Ed: “I read the first page, and it seems like a fairy tale. But, then I noticed the signature on the first page”

Winry: “Whose signature is that?”

Al: “Is it of some alchemist whom we know?”

Ed: “Yes, in fact it is of our dear General Mustang, the flame alchemist” (He smiled)

Winry again looked at the signature, but she was unable to deduce that the signature could be of Roy.

Winry: “I cannot see any initials. How do you know if it is General Mustang’s book?”

Out of curiosity, Al asked Winry to give her the book. When Al had a look at the signature, even he was unable to infer that the signature could be of Roy…

Al: “Yes brother, are you sure this belonged to General Mustang?”

Ed: “Look at the signature carefully guys”

Everyone started looking at the signature very carefully. Then Ed began to explain…

Ed: “Look at the first big image, if you notice carefully, then you can see that it is actually a horizontal ‘R’ which stands for Roy. And then you can see the tail of that ‘R’ finishes off with a small ‘M’ which stands for Mustang. Now notice a single line above the mid-section of the ‘R’, which represents fire”

Winry: “How can you possibly know that?” (Surprised tone)

Ed: “He explained me this once when I saw him use this signature on some book. He uses it very rarely though”

Winry: “What would a Military General do with some fairy tale book?”

Mei: “Maybe he bought this for his son”

Al: “This cannot be just a fairy tale book, it can be hiding some alchemical formulas just like Dr. Marcoh’s cooking recipe notes”

Ed: “You might be correct Al. But, if this book would have been so important then why did he sell it to a pawn shop?”

Winry: “Maybe it’s not an alchemical note after all”

Ed: “Why don’t we find out?”

Winry: “I think you should take it General Mustang first, he can tell you instantly if this contains any alchemy stuffs or not, after all it’s his book”

Ed: “You are right, I will meet Mustang tomorrow then”

In the meantime, Al was looking at the book cover and was thinking something. Ed noticed that…

Ed: “What happened Al? What are you thinking?”

Al: “Do we happen to know anyone with their first name starting with the letter B and last name starting with the letter H?”

Ed: “I guess you saw the two letters at the cover”

Al: “Yes”

Ed: “I also thought about that, but I couldn’t remember anyone fitting that criteria”

While Al and Ed were busy figuring out the mystery behind that book, Mei and Xiao-Mei were bored and were lying on the sofa. Unknowingly, Mei said something which made the two brothers very happy and excited…

Mei: “Wasn’t General Mustang’s lady bodyguard’s name some Hawkeye? Does her first name starts with B?” (Lazy tone)

Ed and Al were surprised after listening to Mei. They were staring her, due to which Mei started blushing…

Mei: “Did I say something terrible?”

She then saw a huge smile appearing on the face of the Elric brothers…

Al: “You are a genius Mei” (Happy tone)

Mei started blushing and went speechless when she heard Al praising her…

Mei: {Alphonse thinks I am a genius}

Al and Ed again went on uncovering the mystery of that book without paying much attention to Mei who was in her dream world now…

Ed: “I remember Major Hawkeye’s father was an alchemist, but I don’t know much about him”

Al: “Maybe General Mustang got this book from her, now that we know they had a son together”

In the meantime, Winry interrupted…

Winry: “You two can just ask General Mustang tomorrow”

Ed: “There is no fun in…”

Suddenly all of them heard a huge explosion...

Winry: “What was that?”

All of them stopped doing whatever they were doing and went toward the window to see what was going on. When they gazed out of the window, they saw the building which was next to their hotel was demolished…

Winry: “Oh my God that was an old age home” (Concerned tone)

Ed: “Let’s go and see if we can help”

After putting the book on the table, Al went with everyone out of the hotel and ran toward the demolished building. While going toward the demolished building…

Ed: “Al, call Central command and inform them about the blast here. Also, call for some medical help”

Al: “Ok”

Al went to the reception of their hotel to call Central command whereas Ed, Winry, Mei and Xiao-Mei went toward the demolished building to see if anyone need any help. When they reached there, they searched for people buried under the rubble, thereby helping some other people who were already there. While they were searching for people under the rubbles, they heard 1 more explosions at some distant…

Mei: “What was that?”

Ed: “Looks like something terrible is happening in this city” (Concerned tone)

Winry: “Who are doing this?”

Ed: “Maybe IFF…they are a group of Ishvalan radicals who are trying to make Ishval a free country”

Winry: “Are they going to do that like this? By killing innocents?”

Ed: “I don’t know what’s going on right now? All we can do at this moment is to help people in need”

In the meantime, Al reached there...

Al: “Brother, I have informed the Central command, and medical help is coming soon”

Ed: “Good”

While Ed was talking to Al, he noticed a man wearing a hooded cloak, and he saw the scarlet eyes of that man. He slowly walked toward the man, but before Ed could reach near him, the man saw him and slowly tried to leave that place. Ed understood that the man was trying to escape…

Ed: “Al, come with me. There is an Ishvalan there who is trying to escape. Maybe he is the one behind the blast”

Al also saw the Ishvalan man who was subtly trying to get out of that place. Both the brothers started following him, but the man noticed them and started running. Watching that, Ed and Al began to chase him. The chase continued for few minutes, and they never lost the track of that Ishvalan man. Finally, they got fortunate when the man took a turn into an alley which was closed ended. Both the brothers were standing at the entry of that alley looking toward the Ishvalan man who had no way to escape now. All of them were panting due to the long chase they had…

Ed: “Stop running from us, I promise we won’t hurt you”

The Ishvalan man faced them and removed the hood he was wearing. He (Appearance: short black hair, big scar on right eye, wearing a round neck black t-shirt, fit long black pants, height was 6 feet plus, same physique as Scar, in his mid-twenties) was not afraid of the fact that he was busted, and that also by the Elric brothers…

Ed: “Was that you who bombed the old age home?”

The man didn’t say anything and slowly started moving toward the brothers…

Al: “Brother, I think he is going to attack us”

Ed: “Don’t worry Al, just create a wall behind us so that he cannot escape”

Al: “Ok”

Al used alchemy to block the entry by creating a wall. Watching that, the Ishvalan man got more angry and charged toward Ed. He punched Ed but, Ed blocked that attack with his hand. Then he kicked Ed, and again Ed blocked it. Ed’s reaction enraged the Ishvalan man due to which he started raining punches and kicks. Al was worried watching his brother in defensive mode…

Al: “Brother, do you need any…” (Worried tone)

Before Al could complete his sentence, Ed interrupted…

Ed: “Don’t worry Al, I can handle this”

Just after that, Ed punched the man, but the man blocked it with his wrists, still the force from Ed’s punch pushed that man to some distance. The man looked surprisingly at Ed…

Man: “How can a tiny boy like you can punch me so hard?”

He said something which he shouldn’t have said. Ed didn’t like to be called tiny, small, pipsqueak etc. that’s why he glared at the man…

Al: “You shouldn’t have said tiny. Now you have made him angry” (Looking toward the man)

Ed: “You want to know, how I punched you so hard. Let me show you” (Angry tone)

Ed removed his red cloak to show why he was hitting so hard. When he was done removing his cloak, the man and even Al were surprised to see Ed’s arm. It was an automail, but it was not any typical automail, it was an exoskeleton covering Ed’s both arms…

Man: “What is that?”

Ed: “It’s an exoskeleton automail of battle grade. It is light and strong at the same time” (He smiled)

Al: “I thought you were using it at home. Do Winry knows about it?”

Ed: “No”

Al: “WHAT?”

Ed: “Do not tell her. If she finds out that I have brought her little piece of experiment along with me to Central, she will definitely kill me”

Al: “Brotherrr…” (Sobbing tone)

The man moved some steps back. Watching that Ed taunted him…

Ed: “Why are you moving back? Are you really that afraid?”

Man: “Even I got a secret weapon to fight with you, Edward Elric”

Ed: “Great, you know me” (Mocking tone)

The man removed his t-shirt and started groaning as his body was transforming into something else…

Ed: “Interesting, he is a human chimera”

After transformation, the man looked like a were-leopard…

Ed: “So you are a leopard chimera I guess”

Man: “Yes”

Ed: “For your information, I have fought more dangerous people than you”

When Ed just finished his sentence, he saw the man was too close and was about to attack Ed with his claws. Ed was lucky that he saw the attack in time, and he blocked the attack with his automail exoskeleton. Because the exoskeleton was metal, Ed saved himself from a brutal attack...

Ed: “Looks like your speed and strength has increased”

The man started doing rapid attacks on Ed, and Ed was continuously trying to defend himself. Gradually, Ed got an opening to attack, but when he tried to punch, the man held his fist with one hand. The man was not aware about one more secret weapon that Ed was hiding. Suddenly a blade emerged from the exoskeleton’s upper wrist part and grazed the upper skin of that man. The man got surprised and moved few steps back…

Ed: “What happened? Didn’t you see that coming?”

Ed extended the blade from his other wrist, it seemed so much like his old fighting style where he used to transmute his automail to create a blade. Watching that Al got excited and the man got nervous…

Al: “You are so cool brother” (Excited tone)

Ed: “What if I am not an alchemist anymore? I can still kick some ass” (He smirked)

Suddenly, Ed felt something on his arms. When he looked at it, he found some of the screws had come off. When he tried to move his arms, he found it hard because the exoskeleton was somehow jammed due to which Ed had to exert extra force to move his own hand. Both Al and the man noticed that…

Man: “What happened? Didn’t you see that coming?” (Mocking tone)

The man charged toward Ed who was defenseless at the moment. But, before the man could attack Ed with his claws, Al created a small wall in between them using alchemy. Al then produced multiple protrusions from the one side of the wall in that alley. The man tried to dodge all the attacks, but when he thought he was safe from Al’s assault, he was already trapped inside Al’s jail and turned back to his human form. Al used alchemy to create more protrusions to make sure that the man couldn’t move until the military comes there. Ed was happy that his brother captured the human chimera, but he was also disappointed in himself to rely on his brother to save him.

Ed: “Nice work Al, guess I have to work harder to save my own ass” (He smiled)

Even though Ed praised Al with a smile on his face, Al was still able to see through it. Ed walked toward that man with his stiff hands…

Ed: “Now, Mr. Leopard, can you please tell us if you are the one responsible for blasting the old age home?”

Man: “No”

Ed: “Okay…are you a part of IFF?”

Man: “Yes”

Ed: “Does this mean, IFF is not responsible for the blasts?”

Man: “No, in fact IFF is orchestrating this, but I have no clue on why they are doing this. I never agreed to hurt the innocents in order to get freedom”

Ed: “You are telling me, you are an IFF member, you know IFF is responsible for these blasts, and yet you don’t know why they are doing this?”

Man: “That’s what I said”

Suddenly someone broke the wall that Al had created at the entry of that alley. Everyone looked toward the man who broke the wall. It was Colonel Alex Louis Armstrong

 

**[Central command]**

Roy’s team was surprised to find out that Oliver was alive. While Roy was thinking about Richard’s threat, others were more interested in Oliver’s topic…

Jean: “Oliver is alive?”

Riza: “Yes”

Falman: “How? We saw his dead body”

Roy: “It’s not the time to have that conversation, we have a bigger problem right now. We have to figure out whether he is telling the truth or not”

Suddenly, the phone present there rang. Fuery picked up the receiver, and found that it was a call from a woman from within the central command, she was giving him some crucial news. After Fuery hanged up the phone, he saw everyone was looking at him with a serious look on their face…

Roy: “What is it?”

Fuery: “There have been multiple bombing in the city. Colonel Armstrong has taken up the charge for now”

Roy got angry and rushed inside the interrogation room followed by Riza and Havoc. He punched Richard on the face due to which Richard fell from his chair on to the floor…

Riza: “General!”

Richard: “That was a pretty hard punch”

Richard wiped out the blood on his lips with his cuffed hands…

Roy: “Don’t you care about other people who didn’t have anything to do with the Ishvalan war? Do you want to again start a war? Is this how you are going to free Ishval, by killing innocents?” (Angry tone)

Richard: “Don’t play your games with me, Mustang. I told you, we didn’t want to do this, but we have no other options”

Roy grunted…

Roy: “You had an option, and that was to give the Amestrian government a chance to serve Ishval”

Richard smiled at Roy while lying at the floor…

Richard: “That was never an option”

Roy understood it was going to be impossible to persuade him, so he walked toward the exit gate of the interrogation room, but before he left, Richard spoke…

Richard: “But, you have an option Mustang”

Roy turned around and looked at Richard…

Roy: “What?”

Richard: “You can stop the upcoming destruction. You just have to do some fast paper works to remove your military from Ishval and make it a free country”

Roy: “What if even after signing the agreement, we don’t adhere to it?”

Richard: “I believe you told me to give your government a chance. Well, this is your chance”

Roy left the room without giving an answer to Richard who was still lying on the floor helplessly. When they got outside the interrogation room…

Roy: “Havoc, Falman”

Havoc and Falman stood in attention stance…

Havoc, Falman: “Yes Sir”

Roy: “Activate the emergency evacuation protocol, we can’t evade the damage, so all we can do is to minimize it”

Havoc, Falman: “Yes Sir”

Roy: “Fuery, Breda”

Fuery, Breda: “Yes Sir”

Roy: “Stay here, and gather insights from the other Ishvalans as well. If you find anything important, contact me immediately”

Fuery, Breda: “Yes Sir”

Roy: “Major Hawkeye”

Riza: “Yes Sir”

Roy: “Let’s go meet our Fuehrer”

When they were about to leave, they heard Grumman’s voice…

Grumman: “There is no need for that”

They saw Fuehrer Grumman enter with his 2 bodyguards and Major General Fussen Lech (of southern command). Everyone in the room stood in attention stance, watching that Grumman told them to relax. Roy couldn’t understand what Grumman meant when he said there was no need for that, so he asked to clarify…

Roy: “What do you mean Sir?”

Grumman: “General Lech’s unit was tracking some Ishvalans after the warehouse incident. Some of those Ishvalans attacked you while you were with our Xingese guests, and some of them went elsewhere”

Lech: “My team should have informed you about the attack earlier. My apologies for that”

Grumman: “Mustang and his team are always prepared for incidents like that”

He appreciated Mustang and his unit with a mild laugh. He looked at Roy who was still concerned, so he stopped laughing…

Grumman: “So I was saying, the other group of Ishvalans who separated from the ones you captured, have been killed”

Roy and his team were surprised after hearing the news…

Roy: “But, how? We got news of multiple blasts in the city”

Lech: “Yes, we failed to eliminate one of them in time, and the other blast happened during an encounter with one Ishvalan”

Havoc: “That’s a relief”

Lech: “Colonel Armstrong went to the old age home which was destroyed by IFF, and we have also received some information from people saying that they saw the Elric brothers chasing a man in a cloak”

Roy slapped his head…

Roy: “Those boys…how do they always get into situations like this?” (He chuckled)

Grumman: “Well Mustang, I found out that my great grandson is alive, and you have organized some search parties in the East area to find him. Is that true?”

Roy: “I apologize for not informing you earlier about that Sir”

Grumman: “That’s okay young man (He smiled). I am happy enough to find out that my grandson is alive. Now, what about marrying my granddaughter, I assure you she won’t leave your unit” (He grinned)

Roy started laughing uncomfortably and Riza was standing at the back, listening to all those conversations which were making her feel uncomfortable, and she couldn’t even interrupt them due to seniority. All her team members were also trying to hold their laugh which she could clearly see but, luck was on her side because the phone rang and it disturbed the talk going on between Grumman and Roy. Fuery picked up the phone and received the message, and as usual when he hanged up, everyone was looking at him…

Grumman: “Any good news young man?”

Fuery was nervous in front of the Fuehrer, still he managed to give a reply…

Fuery: “The Elric brothers have captured an Ishvalan man who is also a human chimera, and Colonel Armstrong is at the location. He will be bringing the man here for further investigation”

Grumman: “Looks like everything is going fine. Now, let us meet the chaos lover, Richard Green”

Grumman entered inside the interrogation room and found Richard was lying on the floor with his handcuffed...

Grumman: “What are you doing Mustang? You have to control your rage” (Pity tone)

Listening to that, Breda quickly went near Richard and straightened up his chair. Richard looked at Roy and smirked…

Richard: “You are really quick Mustang, you called the Fuehrer so fast? I have to admit, you are his favorite”

Roy didn’t react to his response…

Grumman: “He had no plan to call me, Mr. Green. I came here all by myself to give you a message”

Richard looked at the Fuehrer who was standing at some distance from him...

Richard: “What message?” (Anxious tone)

Grumman: “Your plan has failed. Your subordinates or whatever you call them, who were planning to destroy Central city, have all been eliminated”

Richard was shocked when he heard that, he was unable to speak for some moment and his forehead started sweating…

Richard: “It can’t be. You are lying” (Stressed tone)

Grumman: “It’s the truth Mr. Green”

Richard couldn’t believe that he failed. Now that his leader was missing, many of IFF soldiers were killed by some creature, and his last resort was also not good enough, he felt like all the universe was against him. He lost confidence in himself.

 

**[Central City]**

The Ishvalan man whom Ed and Al captured, was now arrested by the military. They were still in the alley where Colonel Armstrong was thanking the Elric brothers for their effort…

Alex: “Thank you Edward, thank you Alphonse.  You helped the military again”

Al: “It’s nothing Colonel Armstrong, we were just doing our job” (Flattered tone)

Ed: “We heard one more explosion at some distance. What’s going on?”

Alex: “IFF did all those blasts, but they have been neutralized” (Serious tone)

Ed: “What do you mean by neutralized? Did you kill them?”

Alex: “Yes, that was Fuehrer’s order”

Ed: “What the fuck is Mustang doing? Is this how he is going to fix this country?” (Angry tone)

Alex: “He is trying his best”

Ed: “Good thing we saved this man”

Alex: “Well, according to the information I received, every bomber has been neutralized”

The Ishvalan man was standing there, handcuffed and listening to their conversation…

Man: “I TOLD YOU, I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE BLAST, BUT YOU DIDN’T LISTEN TO ME”

Ed: “Okay, okay, stop shouting. Still you told me you are an IFF soldier”

Man: “Yes, I am. But, when I went to our base, I saw it was already sealed by the military because of some monster attack. I was clueless on what to do, so I wandered around the city to understand the situation, and then I was seen by you two”

Ed: “Monster?”

Alex: “Yes, I went to their base and saw some claw marks which were definitely of some large creature”

Ed: “Does that have anything to do with Father?” (Serious tone)

Alex: “We don’t know yet, we only know that it was un- killable”

Ed and Al were concerned about the incident and wanted to get more information. Suddenly, they heard a very familiar voice…

Mei: “Alphonse”

Both the brothers looked toward that direction, and saw Mei and Winry running toward them. While running, Winry’s face turned from a concerned girl to an angry girl. Ed understood why she was angry. When both the girls reached near them…

Winry: “WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY AUTOMAIL?”

Ed: “I…was…just trying”

Ed’s voice was full of fear, just because of Winry…

Winry: “I told you not to use that, it is under construction” (Angry tone)

Ed laughed hesitantly, out of fear…

Winry: “And, why aren’t you moving your hand?”

Ed: “It’s jammed”

Winry: “That is what happens when you don’t listen to your engineer”

Ed: “Sorry” (Guilty tone)

Winry sighed…

Winry: “Now we have to go to Rush Valley in order to get the parts”

Al: “But, I have to teach alchemy here. It will be difficult for me to leave my students with half knowledge”

Alex: “I was going to tell you Alphonse that the classes have been cancelled due to the current circumstances”

Listening to that, Winry smirked…

Winry: “You got your answer Al”

Al: “Fine then, I will go with you”

Mei couldn’t believe that just after meeting Al few hours ago, Al was leaving for Rush Valley. So, she didn’t think much and spoke…

Mei: “I am also coming with you”

Winry: “Don’t you need to ask Ling for that?”

Mei: “He will understand, and anyways he considers you two as the best alchemists of Amestris. So, he won’t worry, I will be safe with you”

Ed: “Did he really said that?” (Surprised tone)

Mei: “Yes, that’s the truth”

Xiao-Mei also acted along with Mei to convince the Elric brothers that she was telling the truth…

Alex: “Excuse me, Miss Mei. Did you heal the survivors of the old age home?”

Mei: “Yes, I have stopped their bleeding and healed as much as I could, rest is up to your medical team”

Alex: “Great work out there Miss Mei, Miss Winry”

Both of them smiled to Alex’s appreciation…

Ed: “Mei, Did anyone die because of the blast?”

Mei made a sad face before replying…

Mei: “5 as of now, military is searching for other people who might have buried under the rubbles”

Ed: “Let’s go then, and lend them a hand”

Everyone was happy with Ed’s prompt decision…

Winry: “But, first I need to take out that automail from your hand, otherwise you cannot help”

Ed realized that she was telling the truth which he forgot for a moment…

Ed: “Yeah, you are right”

Winry: “Let’s go then”

Everyone started to leave for their hotel. While leaving…

Ed: “Colonel Armstrong, I forgot to tell you one thing. I have a book which belongs to General Mustang, it’s a brown book with BH written over it, the book’s name is ‘The Knight’…tell him I bought it from a pawn shop and took it”

Alex: “Sure”

They took farewell from Alex and decided to take the train in the morning to Rush Valley

**[Othon – Drachma]**

Two tests were over for the selection process of the temporary staff. Only one test was left whose judge was Gabriella (The Amestrian spy), so Maria was pretty confident that she would be selected. When it was 9 AM at Othon, it was still dark because of the long 6 months of night. But, the night was unable to become an excuse for the 30 candidates who were gathering at the garden inside the palace for the final test. As usual, Maria and Jane were together, and were excited for the test…

Jane: “Do you know, Ms. Gabriella Karpin joined as a temporary staff 5 years back, and now she is the Chief maid? Don’t you think it’s amazing?” (Excited tone)

Maria: “How come she achieved such a position in so less time?”

Jane: “I don’t know, but people say that the King trusts her more than any other staff”

Maria: “Even more than the Head of staff?”

Jane: “Even more than the Head of staff”

Maria: {That’s pretty impressive feat for a spy}

In the meantime, a man came and notified everyone to go to Hall I for the next test within one hour. After getting the notification, everyone went to Hall I before time as they always did, and as expected the Hall was closed. After one hour, the hall opened. It was not as big as other halls, in fact there wasn’t even anything inside the hall. The only thing they could see was Gabriella standing on a small platform wearing her uniform which was a full sleeved blue shirt and a knee length skirt with a badge of Chief Maid, and there were two staffs beside her. One staff was standing with two opaque small bucket with its mouth having a small hole for a thin hand to pass through it, and the other staff was holding a set of keys. Everyone was clueless on what the event was. Soon, Gabriella took the mic and addressed the candidates…

Gabriella: “Welcome everyone to the final test. After this test only 20 candidates will remain who will become the temporary staffs of the palace till the King’s day. In this test, everyone will be given a room key where you will find some guests. All you have to do is to take care of those guests for the whole day. You have to fulfill all their needs whenever and whatever they ask you to. You will receive 10 points for every praise you get, and negative 20 points for each complain. Top 20 candidates will be selected on the basis of points. Now let us start with the process”

The staff who was holding the buckets, walked near Gabriella…

Gabriella: “One of the bucket contains some paper chits with the names of candidates, and other one contains some lottery balls with the room numbers written over them. I will pick a chit and one ball, and the person whose name is on the chit will be given the room key of the room number which are written over the lottery balls”

Gabriella moved her hand into the bucket which contained the names. She pulled out one chit, and read it…

Gabriella: “Maria Rybak”

Maria registered herself as Maria Rybak in order to hide her true identity. When she heard her name, she responded with a yes…

Gabriella: “You are allotted to room number 112”

Gabriella made sure that Maria get the easiest room to serve, so she never told anyone that there were 29 chits and balls in the buckets instead of 30. And she hid the thirtieth ball in her sleeves which contained the number of the easiest room to serve. Maria was also expecting some help from Gabriella, and her expectations were met. Maria went to the person who was holding the keys and took the key to room number 112. When she took the key from the staff’s hand, the staff gave her a heads-up…

Staff: “You are lucky”

Maria: “Why?”

Staff: “That’s the room of Ivanov, the Tenth…the tenth king of Drachma”

Maria: “Are you serious?” (Surprised tone)

Staff: “Yes”

She took the key and went back to her position. She was nervous after knowing the truth behind the room she was assigned to. In the meantime, the process of allotting the rooms kept going on. Jane also got her key. After some time when everyone was assigned their rooms, all the candidates went to their allotted rooms. Before separating, Jane and Maria wished each other best of luck. In some room, the guests were already waiting for their host, while some room were locked. There were different kind of guests in the rooms, there were some rooms filled with children, some with pets, some with regular kind of guests. When Maria reached room 112, it was already unlocked. When she entered inside, the room was very big like a proper house, but it seemed like no one was there. She went more inside the room and she saw a very old man was sleeping on a comfy bed with a saline bottle connected to his arm through a thin pipe and syringe. She understood that the man was former king, Ivanov the tenth. She walked near him to have a closer look when she heard someone…

Anonymous: “Are you the one assigned to this room?”

Maria got startled, and looked toward the person who was standing at a corner of that room checking out some medicines. She saw an old woman in her early sixties, wearing casual outfit…

Maria: “Yes, my name is Maria”

The woman turned around…

Helen: “I am Helen, I look after Ivanov the Tenth. At last someone came to help me. I get bored in this room, and it gets worse when you have someone who doesn’t talk or act”

Maria chuckled…

Maria: “It is my pleasure”

On the other side, Jane was assigned to room number 334. When she reached near her room she found out that the room was unlocked. She knocked at the door to check if anyone is inside or not. As soon as she knocked at the door, she heard a man’s voice from inside…

Man: “Come in”

Jane entered inside, and saw a bald fat man standing at some distance in his bathrobe. She felt shy upon watching him, so she quickly lowered her head trying to look away from him…

Man: “I didn’t know I was given a young girl like you to serve me…what’s your name?”

Jane: “It’s Jane, Sir”

Man: “Where are you from?”

Jane: “Flermerova, Sir”

Man: “Where is it?”

Jane: “It’s a village in the East, Sir”

The man could easily catch the hesitance in her voice…

Man: “So, Miss Jane of Flermerova. Do you think you are up to the job of serving me?”

Jane: “Yes, Sir”

Man: “Do you know who I am?”

Jane didn’t know who he was, so she remained silent instead of saying no...

Man: “Looks like you don’t know me. I am the Head of the weapon manufacturing department, and a very close friend of Ivanov the Eleventh. At least you know who that is, right?”

Jane: “The King, Sir”

Man: “Wow, you know him!”

He started laughing which was making Jane more nervous than already she was.  While she was having difficult time with her guest, Maria was getting history lessons from Helen. She was talking with Helen (the caretaker of Ivanov, the Tenth), who told her that she was taking care of the former King from past 25 years when he got paralyzed for some reason, and gradually went to comatose stage….

Maria: “How old is he now?”

Helen: “82”

Maria: “Then you must have seen him while ruling?”

Helen: “Yes”

Maria: “How was he?”

Helen: “He was the best King in a very long time. We considered his ruling age as the second golden age of Drachma, may be you were not born during his time that’s why couldn’t remember”

Maria: “Yes” (Hesitant tone)

Helen: “So, King Ivanov, the Tenth was known for his justice. Maybe he was the second best King of all time”

Maria: “You told me second golden age, and now you told me he was the second best King? Who was the first then?”

Helen stared at Maria, who felt like she shouldn’t have asked the question…

Helen: “Who else it can be?”

Suddenly, Maria remembered Jane and her stories…

Maria: “Ivanov the First, sorry I just forgot about him”

Helen: “WHAT? YOU FORGOT THE TRUE KING? He was not just a King, he was our God. Everyone prays for his reincarnation”

Maria: {Oh my God, I didn’t know the first King is so much respected till this date}

Helen: “So, I was telling about Ivanov, the Tenth”

Maria: “Yes” (She smiled)

Helen told a lot of things about Ivanov, the Tenth like a fangirl….

Maria: “How did he paralyze, Helen?”

Helen: “Because of disappointment, in himself. Before getting paralyzed, he gave an order to execute a prisoner which he still regrets” (Sad tone)

They stopped talking for a moment, then Maria decided to break the silence by asking a question…

Maria: “Helen, can I ask you a question?”

Helen: “Sure”

Maria: “I know none of the Kings had any family ties with their predecessors or successors. Then who decides, who is going to be the next King?”

Helen: “There is a committee of individuals who select the next King, but nobody knows how many members are in the committee or who are in it, except the Prime Minister and the Marshall. Those two are the only one in the country who can reject King’s order”

Maria’s assignment was going very smoothly, and all she had to do was to talk to an old lady and lend her a hand. Time passed on, some candidates had difficulty to serve their guests while other had comparatively easy guests to serve. The test was unfair for some candidates, and when those group of candidates opposed to the test, the larger group of candidates supported the test because they had a much greater chance of getting selected like that. So, the test continued and the small group who had difficulty, had to keep up with it. Gradually, the test was over and results were declared in the same way as earlier, which was with the help of a list stuck on a wall. Maria rushed to see the results like all other candidates present there, but she couldn’t find Jane. When she looked at the list, she found herself in the sixth position, which was more than enough to get selected. She searched for Jane in the list, and found out that the result had incomplete and withdrew written beside her name. She got curious and went to a staff standing there…

Maria: “Sir, what does incomplete and withdrew mean?”

Staff: “It means the candidate didn’t complete the test for some reason, and withdrew her name from the test”

Maria: {Why would Jane ever do that?}

Maria was happy that she got selected as one of the temporary staff mostly because there was someone who used some unethical way to make sure that she gets selected, but she was not there to serve the King so it didn’t matter to her. Although she felt guilty inside because she got through the test easily, but Jane even after trying so hard, was not selected because of an unfair test.


	15. Search

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story starts few years back when Maes Hughes was alive, he gives some information to Roy regarding Berthold Hawkeye's book (mentioned in Chapter 1). In present time we see Roy getting the information about his lost book. Then after a long day in office, Roy and Riza go to meet their Xingese guests who are staying in a reputed hotel, but something unexpected has happened there. While in far north, in Drachma, Maria tries to get some more details on Coeus when she sees him at the palace. In the meantime, Boris and Danny found the first lead to Lab C, and the lead reveals a huge piece of information.

**[1913, Maes Hughes home – Central City]**

It was 7 PM, Maes had come from his office one hour ago and was expecting someone. As expected, he heard a knock on his door. Maes went to open the door with a big smile on his face. When he opened the door, he saw Roy was standing in front of him wearing a full shirt and a formal trouser, and holding a bouquet of flowers. Even after watching Roy standing before him, he ignored him and looked outside on either side of his door. Looking at Maes’ activities, Roy asked…

Roy: “Aren’t you going to let me in?”

Maes stood up properly, looking at his best friend…

Maes: “I was expecting somebody else, other than you”

Roy: “Who?”

Maes: “You know who, don’t act stupid. You come to Central once in a while, and even though she is with you, you didn’t bring her”

Roy: “Can you first let me in? I will explain”

Roy gave the bouquet to Maes because he couldn’t see Gracia or Elicia, and he entered inside. As soon as he stepped inside, Maes scolded him…

Maes: “You call yourself the ladies’ man, but you couldn’t even persuade her to come here. Such a fake title” (He said while closing the door)

Roy sat on the sofa…

Roy: “You know how stubborn she is”

Suddenly after closing the door, Maes started searching for something…

Roy: “Where are Gracia and Elicia?”

Maes put the bouquet on the small table in front of the sofa, but he didn’t reply to Roy’s question, he was trying to find something. Watching his friend unsettled, Roy asked Maes out of curiosity…

Roy: “What are you searching Maes? Tell me, and I might help you”

Maes still didn’t reply to him, and he walked behind the sofa where Roy was sitting…

Maes: “Here you are”

Maes bent and picked up Elicia, who was playing behind the sofa. Roy was looking at his friend carrying his daughter in his arms, and playing with her. Maes walked toward sofa chair, beside the sofa where Roy was sitting, and sat on it. He looked toward Roy who was still looking at him with a surprised face…

Maes: “What?”

Roy snapped out…

Roy: “Nothing…Where is Gracia?”

Maes: “She went to a friend’s home, she will be coming after an hour or so”

Roy: “I see”

Roy took a deep breath and relaxed on the sofa…

Maes: “How is Oliver?”

Roy: “He is fine, but his interest in alchemy worries me sometimes. I have heard many times from other children that he reads alchemy book instead of playing with them”

Maes: “He is a smart boy… I think he is even smarter than you (Mocking tone)”

Roy: “Far smarter, Maes. And I am proud of him”

Maes looked at Roy and smiled, while Elicia was playing with the flower bouquet…

Maes: “Look at my daughter, isn’t she a cutie?”

Roy: “You have told me that a millionth time now Maes”

Maes: “And she is still the cutest thing ever, isn’t she?” (Adoring tone)

Roy: “Yes she is”

Maes: “Roy, I want to give you a favor in advance, just because you are my best friend”

Roy: “Favor!!”

Maes: “Yes…In future, if your son falls for my little sweetheart, then I have no objection if they want to marry each other. She will be wearing a white bridal dress that will be the most beautiful dress in entire Amestris, and you will be…”

Roy was no more able to listen to his friend’s rubbish and he shouted to stop him…

Roy: “MAAAEEESSS”

His shout definitely helped him to stop Maes, but it also startled Elicia. Roy looked at her, and realized that he made a mistake, but before he could do anything, Elicia started crying. Maes quickly picked her up and lulled her. Within few seconds, Elicia calmed down...

Roy: “Sorry, I didn’t mean to” (Apologizing tone)

Maes: “It’s okay…by the way I got some information about your Master’s book”

Roy: “What information?”

Maes: “Berthold Hawkeye wrote a total of 3 books on record which the Amestrian military seized from his home long ago”

Roy: “Yes, that was before I was his student”

Maes: “You also mentioned about the fourth book that Riza gave you after your Master’s death”

Roy: “That’s true”

Maes: “The names of the other three books were, ‘The Wizard’, which was the first book written by Berthold Hawkeye. The second one he wrote was, ‘The Fairy’, and the third one was titled ‘The Princess’. Seems like your Master liked to write fables”

Roy: “He was a great alchemist, Maes. Everything he did had a reason behind it. ‘The Knight’ was his final book, and he gave it to me. The book must be hiding some alchemical secrets, but I am unable to decode it till now”

Maes: “May be he wanted you to start from the beginning to understand the end. That’s why you are unable to decode it”

Roy looked at Maes and smiled…

Maes: “What?”

Roy: “Seems like you have a brain after all”

Maes: “How do you think I got into the Intelligence department?”

Roy: “Now, tell me where the books are?”

Maes: “That’s the issue. I could only find the records of the book in the central library, but they went missing few years back”

Roy: “Missing?”

Maes: “Yes”

Roy: “But, how?”

Maes: “Seems like someone else is also interested in those books. But, as long as you have the final piece of the puzzle, that someone won’t be able to solve it”

Roy: “Neither can I”

Roy was excited for a moment, but he was disappointed when he found out that the books were missing. He took a deep breath and relaxed on the sofa…

Roy: “I think I should go to Madam Christmas now”

Maes: “Wait for few more minutes, and I will go with you”

Roy: “What will happen after few minutes?”

Maes: “Gracia will be home”

Roy sighed…

Roy: “Fine, I will stay for few more minutes. But remember, I can’t spend much time with you at the bar, I have a train to catch tomorrow”

Maes: “You have your Lieutenant to wake you….Well, how does she wake you? Does she give you a morning kiss or you two directly get into some kinky stuffs?” (Mocking tone)

Roy: “Stop it Maes, your daughter is here”

Maes: “Don’t worry, she is busy in playing with flowers and toys. Moreover, she won’t understand anything”

Maes kept on asking his friend a lot of personal stuffs, he even made theories on why Riza suddenly started growing her hair. He was so persistent that Roy had to finally give up and he started sharing some stories with his best friend. Gradually Roy became comfortable talking about his past. He even described his intimate moment with Riza to his friend, and they laughed at some instances which were funny. Sometime later Gracia was home, and both of them decided to continue their family inappropriate conversation at the bar. So they went to the bar where no one was there except Madam Christmas. Maes knew Roy’s relationship with Madam Christmas, so he asked her some of Roy’s embarrassing stories. This way, their conversation took a third angle because of the inclusion of Madam Christmas. Both of them spent the night drinking and talking, and both the besties forgot to keep a track of time…

 

**[Present day – Central Command]**

It was noon, the work at central command was going on at full throttle because of the recent blast caused by IFF. The captured IFF operatives were put in jail as per the order of Fuehrer Grumman. Roy and his team were busy in some heavy paperwork due to the same reason. Roy decided to take some time off from his exhausting paperwork and went to the garden of the central command. He sat on a bench there feeding Hayate some biscuits who was also having his free time with the dog caretaker at Central Command. In the meantime, Colonel Alex Louis Armstrong walked to the garden. Finding Roy there, he went to him and stood beside him after a salute…

Alex: “Good afternoon General Mustang”

Roy: “Good afternoon Colonel”

Roy gave the remaining biscuits to Hayate and looked at Alex…

Alex: “Looks like you are also exhausted from the paper work”

Roy: “Yes (He said while yawning), it was pretty exhausting”

Alex: “After becoming Colonel, I am also surrounded with lots of paperwork”

Roy: “I know, paper works are boring, but with greater responsibilities comes more paper work” (He smiled)

Alex: “True”

Roy: “So, what happened last night? I heard that the Elric brother caught the Ishvalan human chimera”

Alex: “Yes, but I reached there after the fight and missed all the action. Still I saw the weapon that Ed must have used during the fight”

Roy: “Weapon?”

Alex: “It was some kind of automail”

Roy: “Aren’t automails substitutes for real limbs?”

Alex: “That was different. It was some kind of external covering on his hands, maybe they were meant to boost his fighting ability”

Roy: “Where did he get that kind of equipment?”

Alex: “His mechanic”

Roy: “Of course…who else it can be? Looks like with age my deduction ability is weakening”

Alex: “There is one message that Ed asked me to relay to you”

Roy: “He could have come by himself to deliver the message”

Alex: “They left for Rush Valley this morning due to damage sustained by the automail during the fight”

Roy: “Rush Valley….so, what was the message?”

Alex: “Ed bought a book from a pawn shop by the title, ‘The Knight’. He told me that it has brown cover with BH written over it”

Roy: “WHAT!! HOW THE HELL THAT BOOK WAS IN A PAWN SHOP?”

Alex was surprised at first by Roy’s reaction, then he calmed down…

Alex: “Didn’t you sell it?”

Roy: “I lost that book few weeks ago. Where is it now?”

Alex: “Ahmm…Ed took it” (Hesitant tone)

Alex could see the excitement on Roy’s face after he delivered the news of his lost book, but when he delivered the complete news, Roy’s face was full of disbelief. Roy stood up with a surprised look on his face…

Roy: “He took it?”

Alex: “Yes Sir”

Roy: “That pipsqueak took my book, and the only thing he did was to send a message through you?” (Angry tone)

Alex: “Anyways he will be coming back Sir. At least now you know where your book is”

Roy calmed down, and breathed a sigh of relief…

Roy: “I think you are right”

Alex: “I should go now, otherwise my paperwork won’t over” (He smiled)

Roy: “Yeah, I should also finish my break now. Thank you for delivering the message Colonel”

Alex: “It’s my pleasure Sir”

Both of them then left for their respective offices where a bulk of paperwork was waiting for them.

 

**[Othon – Drachma]**

Boris and Danny were wandering at the outskirt of the city in a slum area. There were some drunk people lying beside the drain, while the children were fighting over the leftover brought from the palace and big restaurants of the city. The place was very dirty, the clothes which the people were wearing were dirty, and the houses were small and broken…

Danny: “What exactly are we trying to find here?”

Boris: “There are places like this which exist throughout the country. Do you know why places like these exist?”

Danny: “Why?”

Boris: “These places are the factory for producing soldiers for the Drachmann military. In Othon itself, there are 3 slum areas like this, and every year some children are taken from these places to be trained as soldiers”

Danny: “Doesn’t the people revolt?”

Boris: “Look at your surroundings. These are the parents who only know how to reproduce, and when the children seek for nourishment, they treat them as if they are not their children. Because of this I agree with the government for taking in the children. At least the children sleep with a full belly when they are with the military”

Danny: “That’s a strange way of increasing the military power”

Boris: “That’s the most effective way to make a person loyal to you. It’s easy to mold a child the way you want rather than train an adult to be loyal to you”

Suddenly, Boris stopped. And watching him, Danny got curious…

Danny: “What happened?”

Boris: “We are here”

Danny looked around, and saw a very old man (in his 80s) sitting outside his house, wearing a very dirty jacket…

Danny: “Is that the person we were looking for?”

Boris: “Yes, this person may be our last hope in uncovering the truth about the chimera experiment conducted by the military”

Boris and Danny had interrogated some people to get some lead on the where about of Lab C, but all those people were of no help. Finally, they found about a man who used to bring children to the military in his youth which was many years ago. After finding the man in the slum, Boris and Danny approached toward that man. Boris sat beside the man…

Boris: “Hello Sir”

The old man confusingly looked at both of them…

Man: “Who are you?”

Boris: “I am Boris, and this is friend Danny (pointing toward Danny). We came her looking for you, Mr. Prodet”

Prodet chuckled…

Prodet: “It has been a very long time since I heard someone call me like that”

Boris: “We need some answers, Mr. Prodet. Would you mind if we ask you some questions?”

Prodet: “Of course, it feels good to talk to someone once in a while” (He smiled)

Boris: “Were you involved in providing children to the military?”

Suddenly, the smile on Prodet’s face disappeared…

Prodet: “I did it so that the children could get a better future. If you think I did it for money, then let me inform you…Yes, money was also one of the reason, but it’s not like I did anything bad. Moreover, the children were never forced to join military” (tensed tone)

Boris: “I am not accusing you of any crime, Mr. Prodet. I agree with you that you helped those children to get a better life from these slums”

Prodet: “Good”

Boris: “We would like to know, if everything was going fine, then how did you end up in this slum?”

Prodet didn’t speak for some moment. He stood up somehow and walked inside his house. Watching that, Boris and Danny thought they lost the only lead they had. While they were disappointed, they heard the old man’s voice…

Prodet: “Aren’t you boys coming in?”

As soon as they received the invitation, they went inside…

Prodet: “Can you close the door?”

Danny closed the door…

Prodet: “Do you want to have some water? I don’t have anything else in my house”

Boris: “It’s fine Mr. Prodet”

Prodet: “As you wish”

Prodet walked toward the only wooden chair inside the house, and sat on it…

Prodet: “Make yourself comfortable”

Boris and Danny couldn’t find anything there except a mattress lying on the floor…

Danny: “Will it be okay if we sit there” (Danny pointed at the mattress)

Prodet: “Sure”

Boris and Danny sat on the mattress which was a bit dirty, but they had no other options…

Prodet: “Did you close the door properly?”

Danny: “Yes”

Prodet: “There are somethings which I don’t like to speak out in public”

Danny: “It’s okay Mr. Prodet”

Prodet: “So, you want to know why I ended up here. Now listen carefully because whatever I am going to tell you is not a fairy tale, it’s the truth which is somewhat hard to believe”

Boris and Danny carefully looked at the old man who was about to answer some important questions which were hovering over their minds from few days…

Prodet: “When I was in my late twenties, I was struggling to find a good job so that I could settle down by marrying a beautiful woman. And one day, I was contacted by the military. I met some of the officials and they offered me a job which was to search for children in slums and hand them over to the military. Initially I was reluctant to do the job because it seemed very unethical, then I saw some children who were from the slums and were having a better life with the military. Therefore, I agreed to take the job offer. Many years passed on, I was getting children for the military from various part of the country. I was also happy because I never had to force a child to get into military. I only had ask them whether they want to eat something good, sleep somewhere comfortably, and they got excited to get into military. But, there was one mistake I did, I never went to meet the children whom I sent to military. More than 2 decades later, once I rescued a 12 year old girl from some human traffickers in the eastern border of Drachma. I spent quite some time with that girl after that incident, and she became like a daughter to me in that period. I forgot to marry and settle down because of my job, quite a contradiction of my expectation (He chuckled)… So, when I left her with the military, it was the first time for me when I felt like I lost something precious. Because of that anxiousness, I went to meet her at the JMA (Junior Military Academy) in Othon after few months, but she was not there. I inquired about her in the military, but there was no record of her ever being in the academy. I searched for her a lot, and came to know about some creatures, and people in military who could transform into something…inhuman. I tried to find out about the creatures, they were called chimeras and were being created using alchemy”

Danny: “I think we came to the correct place this time” (He said in a slow voice to Boris)

Prodet noticed that…

Prodet: “Did you say something?”

Boris: “No, you please continue”

Prodet: “Do you think I am just making up stories to hide my failures?”

Danny: “We believe you Sir. In fact we have encountered chimeras ourselves”

Prodet was surprised on listening that…

Prodet: “How? I thought the military was hiding those things” (Surprised tone)

Boris: “The chimeras are slowly coming out of the shadows. We don’t know the reason for that yet…But, we came across a chimera which was a 13-14 year old girl before transforming into that creature”

Prodet: “So, you are well aware of the military’s wrong doings which has been carried out from many years”

Boris: “Yes, and that’s why we came here to understand what is going on. According to my knowledge, there are alchemists in Drachma, who are operating from the shadows and they are somehow linked to Lab C, but we don’t know how”

Prodet: “You know about Lab C!!”

Danny: “Yes, we got some proves that the chimeras are being created in Lab C which is somewhere in Othon”

Prodet: “You are correct about Lab C being the place where chimeras are created, but it’s not necessary that it will be in Othon…it can be anywhere”

Danny: “What do you mean it can be anywhere?”

Prodet: “Lab C is not a place, it is a group of alchemists who perform alchemy to create chimeras. They generally go to different military academies to do their job, but they also go to jails sometimes. They have been doing this from decades and nobody knows about it. When I found one of the alchemist of Lab C, I tried to follow him, but eventually the military somehow found about that and captured me. They didn’t kill me because some superior ordered them not to do so, instead they took everything from me and put me in a mental asylum where I spent rest of my life. Finally after so many years, they dumped me here to die”

Danny: “So that’s how you ended up here?”

Prodet: “Yes”

Boris: “When were you released from the asylum?”

Prodet: “Few months ago”

Boris: “That’s why I never came across you”

Prodet: “The military never let people like me stay alive because of the information I have. But, they let me go as if they don’t care about those information anymore”

Danny: “Boris don’t you think if this man knows such sensitive information then the military might have put him in surveillance?”

Boris: “You are right, but if there were militaries around here, we would have captured or killed by now”

Prodet: “True”

Boris: “Mr. Prodet, can you tell us how can we find Lab C?”

Prodet: “hmmm…I can tell you the strategy I used 20-25 years ago to find them, but there is very less chance that you will find them like that”

Boris: “It’s better than nothing at least”

Prodet: “Then listen…you need to get into the military academy which will be very difficult. For that you have two options…either you can get some disguise and get inside without being recognized, which will be very difficult, or you can get some exotic creature which they can use for alchemy, which is more difficult. I had the advantage of having a job in the military back then, so went for the first method, but neither you boys have a way to get inside the academy nor you have some exotic animal”

Boris and Danny smiled listening to the old man. Prodet was confused on why they were smiling…

Prodet: “Why are you smiling?”

Both the men stood up…

Boris: “You can say we have a plan, Mr. Prodet (He smiled). Thank you for your help”

Prodet was unaware about Boris having a pet bear, and how could anyone ever think of that.

 

**[Palace of Othon]**

Maria was now among the 20 temporary staff selected. On her first day at work, she was working under Gabriella. She was putting some flowers in the vases on the dining table in the dining hall which was humongous. Some other staffs were also there, while Gabriella was standing beside the big oval dining table to monitor all the staffs. In the meantime, Maria saw a man entering the dining hall. It was Coeus, he was just passing by the dining hall to the rooftop garden which was connected to the dining hall. Maria quickly recognized him being the person who saved her and Danny from a gang in the bar, but she was unable to understand what he was doing in the palace. She also noticed that none of the staff greeted him when he went by, so she inferred that he shouldn’t be a big deal in the palace. Still the curiosity to know more about Coeus was making her anxious. So, she asked the other lady who was cleaning the dining table standing beside her…

Maria: “May I ask you a question?”

The lady stopped cleaning the table and looked at Maria…

Lady: “Sure”

Maria: “Who was the man who just went by?

Lady: “That’s Mr. Coeus, he is kind of a permanent guest in the palace. He talks very less, but he is a good hearted man”

Maria: “I saw him at a bar fighting some gangsters alone”

Lady: “I have heard he is a good fighter, but I have never witnessed it…By the way, if you want to talk to him, you can go to the garden. You will find him having a view of the city, he likes to do that every day”

Maria: “Can I?”

Lady: “Yes, just take permission from Ms. Karpin for a break, and go talk to him”

Maria stopped working by placing the tools she was using at the proper places and went to Gabriella…

Maria: “Ma’am can I take a break for few minutes”

Gabriella: “Okay, but make sure to come back quickly”

Maria: “Yes Ma’am”

Maria and Gabriella were well hiding the truth, and they were acting as if they didn’t know each other.

After getting permission from Gabriella, Maria went to the garden and searched for Coeus. She moved toward the edge of the rooftop and she saw from a distance that Coeus was talking with the head of staff, Yegor Netto. Both of them were having a view of the city while talking, so Maria decided to move close to them and listen to their conversation out of curiosity and her job as a spy...

Yegor: “Sometime I wish you were our King. The love I see in your eyes for this city is unprecedented”

Coeus smiled and replied…

Coeus: “I have my memories in this place after all”

Yegor: “What exactly are the memories? If you can share with me, it might bring a smile on this old man’s face”

Coeus: “Don’t worry, when the time comes, you will get to know far more than those memories…AND YOU TOO GIRL, YOU CAN COME OUT NOW”

Coeus knew that Maria was sneaking on him, and when he called her, she was startled. She slowly moved out of the shadows and stood in front on Coeus and Yegor with a guilty face. Yegor was surprised to see her…

Yegor: “Maria!! What are you doing out here sneaking on Coeus?”

Maria: “I came here to thank Mr. Coeus” (Hesitant tone)

Coeus was unable to recognize her at first…

Coeus: “Thank me? For what?”

Maria: “Did you forget saving me at the bar from the gangsters?”

Coeus: “Oh, now I remember”

Yegor: “Can someone fill me in?”

Maria looked toward Yegor…

Maria: “After I met you that day, I went to the bar to have some drinks with my friends. There I got into trouble with some gangsters, but fortunately Mr. Coeus was there and he fought the entire gang in that bar and left the bar before I could thank him. When I saw him passing through the dining hall, I followed him just to thank him, but I found him talking to you and I didn’t want to interrupt you two”

Yegor looked at Coeus…

Yegor: “You fought an entire gang?” (Surprised tone)

Coeus: “Those were only petty street thugs”

Yegor: “And you are a super soldier” (teasing tone)

Coeus was not used to moments like that, so he decide to leave…

Coeus: “Now, if you will excuse me”

He left after saying that and no one stopped him. While he was leaving, he saw Sieglaff (Drachmann Prime Minister) was stand at some distance outside a hall looking toward him. Sieglaff then went inside the hall which was guarded by two Drachmann soldiers. Coeus also went inside the hall, and he walked into a room which was at the upper floor of that hall. When he entered inside, Sieglaff and Clifton (Marshal of Drachmann Federation) were standing beside the oval table present there. Coeus sat at the head chair seat…

Sieglaff, Clifton: “My King”

They bowed their head a little to which Coeus nodded. They took their seat after that…

Coeus: “How is everything progressing?”

Clifton: “Everything is going according to the plan. Our elite forces have been sent to the eastern as well as the western borders. The eastern force will get into Amestris via the Great Desert through Xing. The western force will take the route through Creta (The country next to the western borders of Amestris)”

Coeus: “How much time will it take them to get into Amestris?”

Clifton: “20 to 25 days”

Coeus: “hmmm, what about Lab C? When are they reaching Othon?”

Sieglaff: “Few more days my King”

Coeus took a deep breath…

Coeus: “Few more days, to a new era”

 

**[Central City]**

Roy and Riza were inside a car driving toward the hotel where Ling and his team were staying. Roy and Riza were sitting at the back seat whereas one soldier was sitting at the front and another one was driving the car. There was small glass window in between the front seat and back seat, just because Roy had the privileges of a General now…

Roy: “How is the search going on?”

Riza: “Search operation in the East city and its nearby area is over. From tomorrow onward, the search team will be operating in the smaller towns. I have ordered them to search in my hometown first…I don’t know why, but I have a feeling that Oli will be there”

Roy held her hand to give her some assurance…

Roy: “Don’t worry, we will find him”

Riza looked at Roy and smiled. They were sitting very close to each other, and Riza was looking into Roy’s eyes and smiling, because of this Roy felt like the young Roy falling in love again in those amber eyes. He approached toward Riza as if he had no control of his body at that moment. He was about to kiss her, but before he could come any closer, Riza cleared her throat and Roy understood what he was going to do. Roy quickly sat properly and started looking out of the window…

Roy: “Ed found Master’s book”

Riza: “The one you lost?”

Roy: “Of course, how many master’s book do I have?”

Riza: “Few years back, I heard from General Hughes that you were searching for the other three books as well”

Roy: “Yes, but I gave up the search long ago. After all there are more important things than those books, like the fate of our nation, safety of my team… and my family”

Meanwhile they had reached the hotel where the Xingese guests were staying. The driver stopped the car, Roy and Riza got out of the vehicle and went inside the hotel while the other two soldiers stayed in the car. Roy and Riza went to the room where the guests were staying which was on the second floor of that building. There were 2 Amestrian soldier guarding at the front door of that room. When the soldiers saw Roy and Riza, they saluted them. Roy knocked at the door, but there was no response. So Roy knocked and this time he called…

Roy: “This is General Roy Mustang, is anybody inside?” (Concerned tone)

Roy looked at the two soldiers who were guarding the room, and they were afraid due to current circumstances…

Roy: “Did they leave for somewhere?”

Both the soldiers were afraid to answer after watching Roy’s angry face, still one of the soldier gathered courage to answer him…

Soldier1: “No Sir. We haven’t moved from our positions, and we didn’t see anyone coming out of the room” (Nervous tone)

Roy got angry and pulled out his ignition gloves from the shirt’s lower pocket, and put them on his hands. Watching that, the two soldiers were sweating out of fear, they thought Roy was going to burn them, but they were confused on why Riza was standing so calm and not trying to stop the General…

Soldiers: “It won’t happen again Sir” (Frightened tone)

Roy ignored them and faced the door, he then snapped and a streak of fire burnt the whole door into ashes in a matter of seconds. Now that the door was no more there, Roy and Riza entered inside the huge room to figure out what was happening. Roy was ready with his gloves on while Riza pulled out her hand gun. The other two soldiers also followed them inside with their rifles ready. The room was pretty clean and everything was in place, but there was no noise or any kind of sound as well which could give them a hint that someone was in the room. Roy looked at the soldiers…

Roy: “You two, go left and check if someone is there”

Both the soldier went to the left side of the huge room which was a big bedroom with an attached bathroom. There were a total of three bedrooms like that in the room which had attached bathrooms. Roy and Riza went to the bedroom in the right side. Both the parties searched the rooms thoroughly but they were unable to find a single person. It was as if they vanished somewhere…

Roy: “You two keep a look here, Major and I are going to the next room. If someone tries to run out of here, then stop them” (Looking toward the soldiers)

Soldiers: “Yes Sir”

Roy and Riza proceeded toward the other bedroom. Both were on guard to face any incoming danger, they were taking each step with caution and playing very close attention to their surroundings. Even that room was abnormally silent and everything in that room was in place. They searched the whole room and were about to have a look into the bathroom whose door was closed. Suddenly they heard some sound from inside the bathroom, and quickly Riza pointed her gun toward the bathroom door. Then they saw the door opening, they were expecting someone unknown coming out of the door, but it was Hue Zemin (the political advisor of Ling). He came out of the bathroom as if he was asleep for some time, and he woke up just a few moments ago. When he saw Riza pointing her gun at him and Roy raising his hand to snap, he was startled. He raised his hands…

Roy: “Mr. Zemin?” (Surprised tone)

Hue: “Yes!!”

Riza put back her gun in the sheath, and Roy lowered his hand. Everyone calmed down, and sat on the sofa in the main room to talk…

Roy: “Where did everyone go?”

Hue: “I don’t know”

Roy: “What do you mean you don’t know? Everyone from Xing disappeared somewhere and you are telling me you don’t know?”

Hue: “They drugged me Mr. Mustang….and put me in the bathroom. When I woke up I found this letter next to me”

Hue handed over the letter he was holding to Roy. When Roy opened it, he saw the letter was written in Xingese language, and no Amestrian present there could read Xingese…

Roy: “What is written in this letter?”

Hue: “It’s an apology for drugging me. They have also written not to worry about their where about, they are fine”

Roy still had some suspicion over Hue, he put the letter in his pocket to verify whether Hue told him the truth or not…

Roy: “So, the two alkahestry users also went with Ling?”

Hue: “Yes”

Roy: “Can you please explain how could they have left this hotel? After all your room is at the second floor, and our soldiers didn’t see anyone come out of the room”

Hue: “Mr. Mustang, all of them are warriors of Xing. They don’t need a door to get out of this building” (He smiled)

Roy sighed and paused for a moment…

Roy: “Wherever your warriors left, we will find them, Mr. Zemin”

Roy and Riza stood up and took Hue to Central command in order to ask him some more questions.

 

**[In a passenger train going to the Eastern Area]**

After Ling got the message about Mei going with the Elric brothers to Rush Valley, he was also excited to go somewhere. He later had a heated discussion on Krid Novak (the blind chimera of Cameron), Zhansi and King Bradley with Yang. The discussion went so out of control that Ling decided to meet Krid Novak so, they drugged Hue and left for the station. They boarded a passenger train going to East Area. In the train everyone was sitting in a compartment, and Ling was laughing about something…

Ling: “I can’t believe you drugged Hue” (He said while laughing)

Yin: “I was tired of watching you two fighting over that blind Amestrian”

Ling: “If whatever you said is true, then that person will not try to hurt us”

Yin: “But my brother here will try his luck again”

Yang: “This time I am stronger than the last time, I am definitely going to kill him”

Yin: “You told me that last time, and what did you return with? A scar on your eye”

Ling: “Don’t worry Yang, you are not alone this time. Although I am not going to help you kill him”

Yang: “I don’t need your help”

Lan Fan: “Why are we even going there? I mean what if we get into unnecessary trouble, and the emperor finds about it. He might punish us”

Ling and Yang looked toward Lan Fan for a moment with concerned look on their face, then they ignored whatever she said and again started discussing. Looking at that, Lan Fan sighed out of frustration and sat on her seat looking out of the window.


	16. Fugitive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Elric brothers, Winry and Mei reaches Rush Valley where they meet an Ishvalan, on their way to Atelier Garfiel (Automail workshop where Winry works). The Ishvalan reveals something strange about himself and gives them some crucial information. Meanwhile, Ling and his team who were trying to reach Cameron, had to get off the train at a town closer to Cameron due to some incident. The town is famous for the woman military training camp, and they are organizing a tournament that day. While in far north, in Othon, when Boris and Danny go to an isolated place of the city to get Toby (Boris' pet bear), they encounter something unexpected.

**[Rush Valley – The city popular for automails]**

The Elric brothers, Winry, Mei and Xiao-Mei had reached the southern city famous for its automails – Rush Valley. As soon as they reached there, Winry was taking everyone to Atelier Garfiel, the automail shop of Rush Valley where Winry was a part time employee. While walking toward the shop through the city…

Mei: “So this is the place where you met Ling?”

Ed: “Yes, we put quite a show on our first meeting” (He said with a mild laugh remembering his first encounter with Ling)

Al: “We had to pay a lot for the damages we did”

Mei: “Were you able to beat them?”

Ed: “What did Ling tell you?”

Mei: “He said it was a draw, and he didn’t even fight”

Ed: “It is true that he didn’t fight, but it was far from a draw. Al and I captured them”

Al: “And then they escaped”

Mei: “Even if you defeated them then, it won’t be easy for you now. Lan Fan has improved a lot, she is even training to become one of the Zhansi”

Ed: “Speaking of the Zhansi, we saw the fight between Yang and Colonel Armstrong. I don’t know many people who can fight one on one with Colonel Armstrong, yet Yang did and he almost beat the Strong Arm Alchemist without pulling out his sword”

Mei: “Yang is the fourth greatest warrior of Xing, and if you think he is dangerous, then you can’t imagine how dangerous the top 3 Zhansi can be. They are seen as gods walking among Xing, there battle and alkahestry skills are unparalleled, and they only follow the emperor’s orders”

Ed: “Sounds like quite some fighters”

While they were walking, Winry saw 3 men were bullying an Ishvalan man (short black hair, , wearing a round neck black t-shirt with a brown jacket over it, fit long black pants, height was 6 feet plus, same physique as Scar, in his late twenties) who had an automail arm. She interrupted the talk going on between Ed, Mei and Al…

Winry: “Seems like someone is in trouble over there” (Pointing toward the Ishvalan man)

Everyone saw what was going on…

Ed: “Let’s try to help him”

While they were closing in to the Ishvalan man, they could hear how the 3 Amestrians were abusing him. One of the men was holding the collar of the Ishvalan man’s jacket and had pressed him along the wall of a building. The clothes of the Ishvalan man were already torn off at some places and they were dirty too…

Man1: “You shouldn’t be seen around here, UNDERSTOOD?” (Angry tone)

Ishvalan: “Yes Sir”

The man then punched hard on the guts of the Ishvalan. Watching that, Ed interrupted them…

Ed: “What do you think you are doing?”

All the men turned around and saw Ed and his company. One of the man said, “Turn around kid, this is no place to get involved”

Ed: “Why are you bothering that man?”

Man1: “Because he is a terrorist”

The Ishvalan man was listening to all the abuses without speaking a word…

Ed: “And how do you know that?”

Man2: “BECAUSE HE IS AN ISHVALAN”

Winry: “So now you are tormenting people because they look different than you?”

Man1: “Why don’t you mind your business and let us do wat we are doing?”

One of the 3 men who was standing at the back was trying to remember something, and when he remembered whatever he was trying to remember, he came close to the man who was having a heated conversation with Ed…

Man3: “I think this boy is Edward Elric, the full metal alchemist” (he whispered in the ears of the man)

The man couldn’t believe what he just heard…

Man1: “Are you serious?” (He spoke in a low voice)

Man3: “Yes, I remember the time when he was fighting some people from Xing, and damaged some property in the process. But the last time I saw him, he had an automail arm and an automail leg, also he was travelling with a guy in an armor”

Man1: “Then this is definitely not him”

Ed was observing them from quite a while talking among themselves. So, he interrupted…

Ed: “What are you talking among yourselves?”

Due to the interruption, the men got startled and they asked a question which was bothering them…

Man1: “Are you Edward Elric? The full metal alchemist?”

Ed: “I am Edward Elric, but I am not the full metal alchemist anymore”

Man3: “Then where is your automail arm and leg”

Ed: “That’s a weird story, you won’t believe me” (He said with a mild laugh)

Man1: “You are not Edward Elric”

Mei: “He is Edward Elric”

Man1: “No he is not”

Mei: “He is” (Annoyed tone)

Ed: “Stop it guys, I don’t care if someone believes I am Edward Elric or not, the reason why we came here is to help the Ishvalan man”

Man2: “You don’t need to bother, we have told him to leave Rush Valley”

Ed: “And why would he do that?”

Man1: “Because he is an Ishvalan, and Ishvalan are terrorists”

Hearing those racist words, Winry couldn’t control herself….

Winry: “What did you say?”

Winry was so angry as if she was going to kill those men. She pulled out her wrench and was proceeding toward them, but before she could reach near them, Mei rushed toward the 3 men…

Mei: “Do not bother Winry, I will take care of them”

Winry saw Mei jump to some height and she kicked the three men, displaying her Xingese martial art. Everyone present there were amazed because of the beating which took place just a moment ago, even the 3 men were amazed, they were not expecting a beating from a small girl. After kicking those men, Mei was standing in attacking stance and Xiao-Mei was also supporting her by standing beside her…

Mei: “Go away, and don’t bother this gentleman” (Threatening tone)

After hearing the threat and getting a beating from Mei, the 3 men stood up and ran away….

Winry: “That was amazing Mei”

Mei started blushing…

Mei: “It was nothing” (Flattered tone)

The Ishvalan man stood up properly…

Ishvalan: “You didn’t need to save me. I was anyways leaving Rush Valley”

Ed: “We were just being responsible citizen of this nation” (He smiled)

Watching the man’s condition, Al thought he might be having a tough time. So, he did what he always did…

Al: “Do you want to have some food with us?”

Ishvalan: “It’ fine”

As soon as he finished off his sentence, his stomach growled…

Ed: “Well, your belly is telling something different”

The Ishvalan started laughing hesitantly. Ed and Al took the Ishvalan man to a nearby food stall, while Winry and Mei went to Atelier Garfiel (the automail workshop). They took some food from the stall and dined at one of the table lying outside the food stall. While eating…

Ed: “We never got to know your name”

Ishvalan: “It’s Bali”

Ed: “Nice to meet you Bali, my name is Edward Elric and this is my brother Alphonse”

Bali: “Are you truly the famous full metal alchemist?”

Ed: “I was once, but I left military few months back”

Bali: “Did you really had an automail arm and leg?”

Ed: “Are you still doubting my identity? See, if you want proof then I can call General Mustang in the military. He is a close friend of mine”

Bali: “Do you mean General Roy Mustang, the flame alchemist?” (Doubtful tone)

Ed: “That’s the one”

Bali finished his food and cleaned his lips using the paper napkin. He then tried to move his automail arm, but it was jammed. Ed noticed that…

Ed: “Looks like your arm is jammed”

Bali: “Yes, it jams a lot. I need to go to my mechanic as usual and he will fix it”

Ed: “Why don’t you get a better one? We know someone who can help you out”

Bali: “Its fine, you have done enough”

Al: “At least come with us to repair your automail. He is probably the best automail engineer we know in the country”

Ed: “Al is right. After that you can go wherever you were going”

The Elric brothers persuaded Bali to come with them to Atelier Garfiel. When they reached there, they saw Winry was already working on the automail exoskeleton and Mei was watching her doing her work. Paninya (the girl with the weaponized automail leg who works at Dominic’s automail workshop) and Garfiel (the owner of Atelier Garfiel) were also there. When they saw the Elric brothers, they happily welcomed them. Garfiel even hugged the Elric brothers. After he finished hugging both the brothers, he looked at Ed…

Garfiel: “My, my Ed, looks like you are taller than the last time I saw you”

Ed laughed mildly…

Ed: “Yes, a little tall” (He said while laughing)

Garfiel had never seen Al in his real body, so he looked at Al very carefully…

Garfiel: “Hmm, and you must be Alphonse”

Al: “Yes” (He said with a mild laugh)

Garfiel: “It feels good to see that you finally got your bodies back” (Emotional tone)

Garfiel then looked at the tall dark man standing beside the Elric brothers. Garfiel moved his finger over Bali’s chest due to which Bali got uncomfortable…

Garfiel: “And who would you be?” (Flirty tone)

Ed: “He is a friend of ours, his name is Bali. His automail is broken so, we brought him here”

Garfiel held the automail arm of Bali…

Garfiel: “Do not worry Bali, I will fix the automail better than before” (Flirty tone)

Everyone in the room were holding their laugh watching the interaction between Bali and Garfiel…

Bali: {I was better getting beaten by those 3 men. This is far worse}

Garfiel: “The automail you have right now is very heavy and unreliable. If you want I can make you one, which will be lighter and stronger than you have right now”

Bali: “But I don’t have any money with me”

Garfiel: “Don’t worry about that” (He grinned)

Bali got more uncomfortable watching the grin on Garfiel’s face. Garfiel then suddenly got serious, and asked Bali to sit on a chair so that he could remove the automail arm. While Garfiel was detaching the automail arm…

Paninya: “So Bali, where are you from?”

Bali: “I came here from the Western Area a month back, I have been staying in Rush Valley since then”

Paninya: “That’s strange, I never saw you in the city, and there aren’t any Ishvalans in Rush Valley”

Bali: “People here were reluctant to give me a regular job. Somehow I managed to find a kind person who agreed to give me a job, but for a late night shift and he advised me to hide my Ishvalan lineage if I want to survive in Rush Valley. Maybe that’s why you never saw me”

Garfiel: “People here started getting afraid of Ishvalans after the Ishvalan war broke out. Things started looking good after few years of the end of Ishvalan war, but then the IFF came into surface and people started looking at every Ishvalan as a terrorist, how unfortunate”

Ed: “Even I broke the exoskeleton automail while fighting an IFF operative”

Paninya: “So much like you” (Mocking tone)

Ed laughed admitting his habits of getting into danger….

Al: “The Ishvalan man was not a normal human though”

Bali: “What do mean, not normal human?”

Al: “He was a human chimera…a leopard chimera to be precise”

Bali was shocked for some reason when he heard Al’s words. He was unable to speak for a moment, and then spoke, but in a hesitant way…

Bali: “Was he…looking like (He gulped)…me?”

Winry was listening to the conversation going on while she was working

Winry: “Initially, we were hesitant to ask you, as it could have gone wrong. But, now that you have mentioned it…yes, he was…kind of looking like you”

In the meantime, Garfiel detached Bali’s automail arm. After that, Bali stood up and looked at Ed and Al…

Bali: “There is something you should know. I owe you people at least the truth if I cannot give anything else. I have not told this to anyone…mostly because it sounds ridiculous to general public. You are alchemists, so I hope you will understand”

Al: “What truth?”

Bali: “The person you caught is my younger brother, Bahu. We were almost about of your age when the Ishvalan war broke out. Many of our people were dying every day before our eyes. Kids of our age were also fighting in the war…many fled off to various parts of the country to hide. Even some people fled to foreign nation to take refugee, but the countries were not allowing them to stay. I was not a brave Ishvalan to fight alongside others, so I fled off like a coward, taking my brother with me. We went through the Great Desert and somehow got inside Drachma. We were trying to survive in Drachma, and because we were so identifiable in a crowd, surviving became more difficult. But, then one day the newly appointed Marshal of Drachma saw us on the road side begging for food. He came to us and asked with a smile, “Do you need a home?” We were so desperate to have a place to sleep and eat that saying no was never an option for us. He took us to Junior Military Academy where children like us are trained to be future Drachmann soldier. And one day we got greedy and enrolled for a program called Lab C for a better life and more power. In that program, we were turned into some monster, which they called chimeras, but we had no problem with that. We were then given a better status, and assigned to Special Forces. Years passed on like that, until one day Bahu found out about IFF, and the Ishvalan who were struggling to make Ishval a free country. He somehow got inside Amestris and joined IFF, even the Drachmann military was unaware of his action until he got inside Amestris. Because I was his brother, the Drachmann military held me and punished me by cutting off my arm. Then they put me in jail, and suddenly almost two months back, they let me go for no reason. After that, somehow I got inside Creta (Country at the western border of Amestris). Then I took the help of some smugglers to get inside South Area in order to search for my brother. There I heard that there are some good and affordable automail engineers in Rush Valley, and I needed an arm. So, I came here and now I am stuck here”

When Bali completed his story and looked forward, everyone was staring at him with an amazed face. Even Winry and Garfiel were not working and looking toward him. Bali smirked at the reaction…

Bali: “I told you it’s hard to believe, but that is the truth”

Ed: “So, Drachma has alchemists who can create human chimeras?”

Bali: “That’s true”

Ed: “Creating human chimera is a form of human transmutation, and that requires a philosopher stone in order to be successful”

Bali: “I don’t know what a philosopher’s stone is, but I can assure you there are lots of human chimera in Drachma”

Al: “But, it’s not possible because the only people who know the process of creating a philosophers stone are in Amestris”

Listening to Al, Bali started grunting and soon transformed into his chimera form. He was a Black Panther chimera, different from his brother who was a spotted leopard. Garfiel and Paninya were the only one there who were shocked to see the transformation because that was the first time for them. Bali then looked toward the people who were looking at him, especially toward the Elric brothers…

Bali: “Now do you believe me?”

 

**[In the train moving toward Cameron]**

The train in which Ling and his team were travelling stopped at a station. Ling, Yin (The Woman Zhansi) and Lan Fan got out of the train to take some fresh air outside while Yang wanted to have some moment of silence. The station where the train stopped was 25-30 miles away from Cameron, and it was the town where the Eastern military camp for women was situated. An hour passed since the train was not showing any sign of movement, so Yin decided to find the reason. She went toward two railway staffs who were busy talking something serious among themselves, so she decided to interrupt them…

Yin: “Excuse me, gentlemen”

When both the men turned around on who was calling them, they froze for a moment when they saw her. Yin was used to that kind of reaction, so she sighed and asked again…

Yin: “Gentlemen?”

One of the men replied, but in a very shy tone…

Man1: “Yes, Ma’am?”

Yin: “Can you please tell when will the train leave for Cameron?”

Before the man could answer her, the other man quickly replied to her question…

Man2: “The train won’t leave for Cameron Ma’am” (He smiled)

Yin was shocked to find that the train was not going anywhere, and that after an hour. So she wanted to know the reason…

Yin: “Is this the last station of this train?”

Man1: “No, this train was supposed to go to Cameron, but a railway bridge collapsed last night on the way to Cameron. So, other trains are taking an alternate route to other Eastern city and towns which is not passing through Cameron”

Yin: “This is such a big inconvenience. Why didn’t anyone inform us?” (Angry tone)

Man1: “Every passenger was informed last night”

Yin then remembered a knock on her compartment door the previous night when everyone of her group was sleeping. She opened the door and a railway staff informed her that the train would go till Gabur (The city before Cameron, where the female military training camp is situated), and she responded with an “ok” and closed the door. She then asked Yang if Cameron comes before Gabur, and Yang replied with a yes. She then went to sleep again. After she realized her mistake, she got angry with herself because of that, but it was useless to get angry. So, she calmed down and tried to find a solution…

Yin: “Can you tell me if there is any other way to go to Cameron?”

Man2: “It’s difficult to find any transportation other than the military vehicles in this town. But, if you get lucky, you might find a ride to Cameron. It’s around 30 miles from here after all” (He smiled)

Yin: “30 miles!!” (Surprised tone)

Yin’s disappointment changed to happiness when she found out that Cameron was only 30 miles from there. She quickly went to her group and told them everything she found from the two railway staffs. After that, she along with her group brought out all the luggage they had from the train and proceeded toward the exit gate of the station. Before leaving the station she thanked the two railway staffs by giving them a hug, due to which the two men were froze for some moment while blushing like a teenage boy. When they got out of the station, they saw there was no concrete road like there used to be in cities, and the place was almost void of people even though the surrounding was covered with greenery. They could see a middle aged woman just outside the station who seemed like a local. So, they approached her and asked her the way to the main town. The woman directed them, and they started walking toward the direction. After walking few 100 meters they could see a small market. They went there, and saw the place was overcrowded with women, there were only a handful of men present there, and that also in some of the shops. Watching that Ling was amazed and said to his group who were also amazed…

Ling: “Is this place some kind of woman territory, like we used to listen in stories?”

LF (Lan Fan): “The Eastern military training camp for women is situated in this place, maybe that’s why there are too many women”

Ling: “Hmmm…let’s get some food and take some rest for some time”

Yang: “What about finding a ride to Cameron?”

Ling: “Relax Yang, it’s only 30 miles from here. We can find a ride and reach there in no time. Then we can enjoy the fight between you and your nemesis Mr. Blind”

Yang was very anxious to meet Krid (The blind chimera), but he couldn’t go against Ling…

Yang: “Young Lord…will it be okay if I explore the market on my own? I will find you after few hours”

Ling: “Sure, go on”

Yang left the group after getting permission from Ling, and went to different part of the town to have some lone time. Meanwhile, the remaining three were wandering the market. Ling was tasting different kind of street foods wherever he could find with his lady bodyguards. While they were having fun in the market, they saw a military lady sticking some pamphlets on some walls and a huge public was surrounding her. Out of curiosity, they went to see what was happening there and why a mob was surrounding that woman while she was sticking a pamphlet. When they reached there, the military lady was finished off with sticking the pamphlet and was about to announce something…

Military Lady: “Those who don’t know, the yearly fighting tournament organized by the women military camp will be starting today at 2 PM. This tournament is not exclusively for the women working for the military, but also for the women who think they are good fighter and have a chance at winning the tournament. If you have not registered yet, you can still do it before the tournament start at the camp. Top three winners will be provided 7000, 10000 and 15000 Cenz”

The military lady left after saying that, and everyone went back to their work talking among themselves about the tournament. Ling and his group were listening to all the discouraging word that were float in the surrounding…

Random woman: “There is no way we can ever beat the women of the military camp, after all that place has created most of the strongest women in military like Olivier Armstrong and Riza Hawkeye”

Random Woman2: “At least we can enjoy the tournament”

Even though the words were pretty discouraging, it had no effect on the two lady warriors of Xing. Instead they were excited to get into the tournament. They looked toward Ling who was smiling, and were about to take his permission to get into the tournament. But before they could speak, Ling replied…

Ling: “You two can definitely go, and make sure to win the tournament” (He smiled)

Lan Fan and Yin were very happy when they got permission from Ling.

 

**[Othon –Capital of Drachma]**

Like every day, or we can say every night, there was no sun in the sky of Othon, but there was a full moon shining in the sky trying to fill the gap of the sun. Tracking time without a watch was difficult for people, especially for them who were visiting Othon for the first time. Danny and Boris were wandering at a place which was kind of a dumping ground of the city. There was some garbage, and a dirty wide water channel was flowing beside the garbage. The water in the water channel was maximum 5 feet deep, and there was a forest on the other side of the channel. There was also a 10-12 feet wide bridge over the channel which connected the city to the forest, but it was rarely used by the people. Danny and Boris were walking below the bridge and just beside the water channel which was used as a dumping ground…

Danny: “Are you sure this place was safe to hide Toby?”

Boris: “I have been to Othon a number of times, and this place always helped me to hide him. People rarely come to this place, only the dumping truck and few people to burn off the garbage come here”

They were walking forward in order to look for Toby (Pet bear of Boris) when they suddenly heard someone crying at some distance. Both of them were surprised because they were not expecting any other human being to be present there…

Danny: “What did you just say? No human? Then who is crying?”

Boris: “I don’t know”

Both of them slowly moved forward to see who was crying…

Danny: “Have you heard the stories of the banshees who lure people by making human sounds as if someone is in need of help?”

Boris: “Did your seniors sent you here, even after knowing how stupid you are?”

Danny didn’t reply to the insult, and quietly followed Boris to find the source of the sound. Soon they saw a woman sitting at some distance crying out loud….

Danny: {Damn it, it’s definitely a banshee}

Boris went closer to the woman while Danny stood at his position out of fear. He was shouting in a very low voice to tell Boris not to go near the woman, but his voice was not reaching into Boris’ ears. The woman was also busy in crying without even noticing Boris was coming toward her. When Boris was close enough, he spoke…

Boris: “Excuse me Miss”

When the woman suddenly heard a man’s voice, she was startled and looked toward Boris with a panicked face. Watching the woman’s reaction from a distant, Danny was also startled. The woman was Jane (Maria’s friend who was eliminated at the final test of temporary staff selection, introduced in chapter 11), but because it was the first interaction between them, Boris and Danny had no clue who she was…

Jane: “Who are you?”

Boris could see she was afraid, and she was half drunk as well. He could see an alcohol bottle lying beside her, and alcohol was pouring out of it on the ground…

Boris: “Your alcohol is leaking out” (He pointed toward the alcohol bottle)

Jane quickly picked up the alcohol bottle and calmed down a little. In the meantime, Danny also came close when he was convinced that she was not a banshee…

Boris: “Why are you crying? And that in a place which is so isolated of all?”

Jane: “How can this be isolated when two men are here?”

Boris: “This place is not safe Miss, you should not come here”

Jane: “No place is safe for a woman when evil man are ruling this country” (Sobbing tone)

Boris: “If you need any help, we can try our best to help you” (Assuring tone)

Jane: “You cannot help me”

Boris: “If we cannot help you, then at least tell us who can”

Jane: “I don’t know” (Sad tone)

Boris sighed to calm down, he was not expecting to find a depressed woman at such an isolated location. He sat beside her…

Boris: “You can tell me what happened to ease your pain. We are stranger to each other, and there is no one else around here, everything spoke here will remain here. So, you don’t need to worry”

Jane didn’t speak for some time. She was gazing at the reflection of the full moon on the water flowing in the channel. After some time when she calmed down, she spoke…

Jane: “From years I was preparing for the temporary staff selection test, and this year I was selected to appear for the main test at the palace. I was first in the first two rounds of the test, but the third test was very unfair. We were allotted to different guest room based on lottery system, and unfortunately I got a room where the head of the weapon manufacturing department was staying. I was dependent on him to give me some praise for my service and no complain if possible in order to pass the round. But, that man turned out to be a pervert, he was in his bathrobe and went inside the bathroom. Then he called me inside and asked me to…rub his back (She gulped)…while he was sitting naked, facing his back to me. In order to be selected as one of the temporary staff, I rubbed his back. He told me to do a lots of uncomfortable things like massaging him while he was lying naked on the bed, feeding grapes to him, dance for him and so on, all of which I did. But then, he asked me to… get naked in front of him… which was something I couldn’t do. He threatened me that if I would not do whatever he tells me to do, then he would only complain about her in front of the judges and not a single praise. I was in dilemma, and finally I decided to keep my integrity so, I withdrew from the test. But, before leaving that fat bastard’s room, I stole his knapsack in which he kept his golden rings and chains”

Boris: “Seems like you took your revenge”

Jane: “If you think I used the rings and chains for my own benefit, then let me tell you, I gave them to some people living in the slum”

Danny and Boris knew that Maria was also appearing for the temporary staff selection. So, out of curiosity Danny asked…

Danny: “Do you happen to know someone by the name Maria? She is friend of ours and she was also appearing for the same test you were appearing”

Jane: “WHAT!”

Suddenly, Jane’s sobbing face turned to a more energetic one when she heard Maria’s name. She quickly stood up…

Jane: “You know Maria?”

Danny: “Yes” (He said with a smile)

While she stood up, a small knapsack fell on the ground. Boris noticed the knapsack and picked it up…

Boris: “Is this your knapsack?”

Jane looked toward Boris who was holding the knapsack…

Jane: “No, that belongs to that fat bastard” (Disgusted tone)

She then started talking with Danny more comfortably by exchanging names, sharing the stories of the test she appeared with Maria. While Jane was talking with Danny, Boris was also listening to the conversation thereby knowing her name, and in the meantime, he was also looking into the knapsack. The knapsack was almost empty except a steel key which was inside with some logo on it and a very uncommon pattern. When Boris saw that key, he couldn’t wait but asked Jane…

Boris: “Jane, did this key also belonged to that fatty?”

Jane looked at the key…

Jane: “Yes, I thought maybe I will keep this key to myself like a souvenir of some sorts because it is made of steel and compared to the golden rings and chain, it has no value”

Boris smiled after listening to her reply…

Boris: “Do you have any idea what have you done?”

Jane gulped and was scared after listening to Boris…

Boris: “This key is most likely the key to the vault which contains all the blue print and plans of every weaponry that the Drachmann government has developed and is going to develop. Most likely, even the head of weapon manufacturing department has no idea about some of these weapons, and you stole it. The military must have found out by now that you stole the key. Maybe when they will find you, they will first take the key from you, and then torture you for some more information or they will kill you at sight”

Jane was getting more and more scared, and suddenly she heard some footsteps walking under the bridge where there was shallow water, and the place was pitch black due to the shadow of the bridge. Everyone looked toward the bridge, and saw two glowing eyes of an animal which was crossing the water channel. Jane was now shivering from fear after watching the animal approaching toward them, but Boris and Danny were smiling in that situation looking toward the beast. Soon the animal crossed the water channel and got out of the shadows. As expected by Danny and Boris, it was none other than Toby. When Jane saw Toby’s huge size, she was frozen for a moment, and when Toby started running toward them, Jane quickly turned around and ran. After running some distance, she realized that Boris and Danny were not running. When she turned around, she saw the bear was hugging Boris very affectionately. After Toby stopped hugging his master, Boris turned around and looked at Jane who was surprised…

Boris: “Jane, meet Toby, my best friend” (He smiled while Toby roared)

It took some time for Jane to understand that Toby was not going to harm her, still when they were having conversation, Jane was sitting few meters away from Toby who was sitting just beside Boris…

Jane: “What should I do now?”

Boris: “You should better hide somewhere now that you are a fugitive”

Jane: “Hide?” (Scared tone)

Boris: “I can help you with that if you promise you won’t tell anyone about Toby”

Jane replied without thinking for a moment…

Jane: “I promise”

Boris: “Also, if you won’t mind, I will be keeping this key” (He smiled)

 

**[Eastern Military Training Camp for Women – Gabur]**

It was almost 2PM and the fighting tournament at the women military camp was about to start. There was a huge crowd to see the fighting tournament. The crowd was surrounding a fighting arena which was made of some thick planks at half a feet height from the ground. There were no ropes for creating a boundary in order to protect the fighters from falling on the ground. Lan Fan and Yin had registered for the tournament and were warming up, while Ling was cheering them…

Ling: “There is no way any of the woman here can defeat two of the strongest women of Xing”

Yin: “You are very correct right there” (She smiled)

In the meantime, a military woman of lower rank came to the arena with a mic, she was clearly the announcer. She stood at the center of the arena and spoke…

Announcer: “Hello ladies and….gentleman”

Everyone laughed at the pause she took before speaking gentlemen, because there were only a handful of men present there…

Announcer: “Like every year, this year also the Eastern Women Military Training Camp is proud to organize the Annual Fighting Tournament. Every year we used to fight among ourselves, but this year…we have two non-military women registered for the tournament. There are a total of 16 ladies who participated this year, out of which 14 are from the military and the rest 2 are outsiders. Now, let me explain the rules….Every round will be a knockout round. So, the winner of each round will advance to the next round. There is no time limit. Match will end if any of the fighter yields, falls outside the arena or incapable of fighting anymore. Use of weapons is prohibited, as well as alchemy…if you are an alchemist of course, which is very rare to see. Now, let me tell you a brief history of this tournament, especially for people who don’t know (She said while looking toward the Xingese). This tournament is being organized from past 35 years, and was being initiated by a group of military women in order to show the world that women can also fight…to be precise, they can even fight better than the men. Now without wasting any time, let the tournament begin”

The crowd applauded the announcer for the nice introduction she gave for the tournament. She then left the arena and sat along with some other organizers (military women), just outside the arena. Then a female referee walked inside the arena in order to begin the match. Every competitor present there was nervous except some women like Yin, and women who were very confident about winning. After sometime, the first pair of fighter’s name was announced, they were Zara and Julia. Hearing that, Yin started walking toward the arena. Watching Yin proceeding toward the arena, Ling was confused and asked to Lan Fan out of curiosity…

Ling: “Why is she going to the arena? Her name isn’t even called”

LF (Lan Fan): “We registered by fake names, she registered as Zara”

Ling: “Why?”

LF: “If the military finds out who we truly are then they will not let us go, and they will inform the central command”

Ling: “hmmm…I didn’t think about that. What is your name then?”

LF: “Aaa…It’s….” (She was avoiding eye contact with Ling)

Ling: “I am waiting”

LF: “Chanel, I have registered by the name Chanel”

Ling: “What!!!”

In the meantime, Yin was at the arena along with the other lady whose name was Julia who had the same kind of physique like Yin. Yin had kept her weapons where Ling and Lan Fan were present. Both the woman fighters present at the arena were bare footed as they were not even allowed to wear shoes. Soon the referee whistled to start the first match of the tournament, and both the ladies stood in attacking stance. Both of them were waiting for the other one to attack, and after losing patience just after few seconds of the fight, Julia charged toward Yin and started raining punches. Yin was dodging the punches without even breaking a sweat. She then blocked one of the punches and quickly used her index and middle fingers jointly to attack Julia’s shoulder blade. Due to that, Julia was incapable of attacking by the hand where she was attacked. Now that her defense was absent from one side, she panicked and gave second opening to Yin. Getting the opportunity, Yin use a similar attack she used previously to attack the other shoulder blade. Julia was incapable of attacking by either of the hands, so she had no choice but to yield. She sat on her knees and yielded. After the match ended, Yin went near Julia and held her arm…

Yin: “Let me fix your arm”

She used some technique on Julia’s shoulder blade to fix the temporary paralysis. Julia was impressed by the skills of Yin…

Julia: “You are very good at fighting, but let me tell you, there is one woman in the tournament who has not been defeated from last 3 years and she has beaten each of the opponents with ease. If you keep winning like this, you will meet her soon”

Julia then stood up and went back to join the audience. Yin also went back to have a moment of silence before her next match without giving any importance to what Julia said. Meanwhile the tournament kept on going, and the last match of the round of 16 was announced…

Announcer: “Now, the next match is between Karen and Chanel”

Lan Fan was ready to fight and was walking toward the arena while Ling was cheering her, and at the same moment teasing her because of her fake name…

Ling: “Go Chanel and show them who Chanel really is”

Lan Fan was also quietly taking on Ling’s teasing which no one in the public could understand. When Lan Fan reached near the referee for inspection, she was stopped by the referee due to automail arm she had. Watching Lan Fan stuck with the referee, Ling rushed toward her to check what was happening…

Referee: “You cannot enter into the arena with an automail”

Before Lan Fan could reply, Ling interrupted…

Ling: “It’s not like she had choice. If you haven’t noticed, she lacks an arm” (Angry tone)

Referee: “Who are you?” (Looking toward Ling)

Ling: “I am her friend”

Referee: “So, Mr. Friend, it will be unfair for other participants if their competitor is using a metallic arm while they are bare handed”

He then looked toward Lan Fan to talk to her…

Referee: “Look, if it’s possible for you to remove your automail, then you can participate in the tournament”

Ling: “Where can she find an automail engineer right now?”

Karen (the competitor) was standing there, listening to all the conversation going on. When she heard Ling, she interrupted…

Karen: “As if she can fight me with only one hand?” (Mocking tone)

Ling: “Yes…she can” (Stressed tone)

Karen: “Well, if that is true then I have no issue fighting her as long as she doesn’t use her automail arm for any purpose. By any purpose, I mean not using it for fighting or taking support while fighting. Is that okay?”

There was silence for a moment before the referee spoke…

Referee: “If Karen has no problem, then you can participate. So, do you agree to her conditions, Chanel?”

Ling and Lan Fan looked at Karen who was smirking…

Ling, LF: “Yes”


	17. The Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The referee agrees to let Lan Fan fight with the condition that she will not use her auto-mail in any way, and the tournament at the Women Military Training Camp continues with some insane fights. During the semi finals, Yin finds something unexpected. Meanwhile in Othon, Boris takes Jane to one of his friend who is a smuggler and owns a pawn shop. Jane finds something there whose importance she doesn't know yet. On the other side, in Central Command Roy receives some crucial information.

**[Gabur- Eastern Military Training Camp for Women]**

After Lan Fan agreed to the terms of Karen, the referee allowed them to begin the match. Both the fighter entered inside the arena and stood in their position. Karen was grinning, for the fact that she was fighting a handicapped woman, defeating whom seemed very easy. Before starting the match...

Karen: “Please forgive me if I break your other hand” (She smiled)

She was trying to provoke Lan Fan and it was working because Lan Fan was angry. When the referee blew the whistle and started the match, both the fighters went on defensive mode. But, it was difficult for Lan Fan to go fully defensive because she was not allowed to use her left arm. Karen could clearly see an opening on Lan Fan’s left side, so she was trying to be on that side of Lan Fan. Both the fighters then slowly started moving toward each other. When both of them were close enough, Karen attacked at the opening, but Lan Fan quickly took few steps back and dodged the attack, and she instantly countered with a low wheel kick by taking the support of her right hand. Karen was not expecting an attack like that, she lost her balance because of the attack and fell forward. After that when she tried to stand up, she saw a punch coming toward her face, which panicked her and she shouted, “I YIELD, I YIELD”.  Lan Fan stopped her punch just an inch away from Karen’s face. The audience was amazed of watching that, and the grin from Karen’s face had disappeared. Lan Fan was very much satisfied with her victory, she didn’t say anything to Karen because her actions said for her. Both the fighters then left the stage, one was happy and the other one was sad. While Lan Fan was leaving the stage, Ling was cheering for her…

Ling: “That’s our Chanel (Fake name used by Lan Fan), she can fight anyone and she can do that with just one hand”

Everybody was laughing watching the activity of Ling, and Lan Fan was quietly walking toward him with an embarrassed face even though she won. When Lan Fan came near Ling…

LF (Lan Fan): “Young lord, can you please stop now?” (Low voice)

Ling smiled looking at her embarrassed red face, and decided to stop teasing her. Soon the round of 8 started in which Yin had no difficulty clearing it, but Lan Fan had few difficulties regarding her automail, but she was allowed to compete on the same conditions put by Karen. After the round of 8, Yin and Lan Fan were ready for the semi-finals. Yin still didn’t want to know whom she was going to compete in the semis. She didn’t see other fights or asked anything to Lan Fan, whenever she had no fight, she was relaxing at a distant away from the crowd. After an hour of the round of 8, the semis started, and Yang was nowhere to be seen. Ling, Lan Fan and Yin were also so into the tournament that they forgot about him. Soon the semi-finals started and the announcer announced the first match which was between     Lan Fan and a military woman named Victoria. Lan Fan and Ling had already seen Victoria fighting, and it was not the fighting style that was impressive, it was the sheer size which was intimidating. Victoria was 6.5 feet high woman with a very muscular physique. Every fight in which she fought, she was winning without much effort. Lan Fan was trying not get afraid of Victoria, but fighting such a huge person with one hand was a very difficult task to accomplish. If she could get hold of Lan Fan at any moment of time, then she could easily throw her outside the arena.

Victoria was already standing in the arena waiting for her opponent to come. When Lan Fan was about to proceed toward the arena, Ling called her. When she turned around, Ling came close to her and held her shoulders and looked into her eyes…

Ling: “That woman over there may be huge, she might have thrashed all the opponents she faced to fight you. But, I can say without any doubt that she doesn’t have a heart bigger than you (He then looked at her automail)…and this automail is prove of that”

Ling never forgot Lan Fan’s sacrifice when they fought Bradley and Gluttony, where she cut off her arm to protect Ling. So, when she heard those assuring words from Ling, she walked very confidently toward the arena and stood in front of Victoria without any sign of intimidation on her face. Victoria was looking at Lan Fan like an elephant gazing toward a rabbit who cannot hurt her by any means. She then spoke to the referee before she could start the fight…

Victoria: “I am not going to fight this girl if she is going to fight me like a handicapped”

Referee: “Her automail is practically a weapon, if you get hit by it then you might get injured badly”

Victoria: “Then bring me something by which I can protect myself”

Referee: “But, use of any kind of weapon is strictly prohibited in the tournament”

The audience present there were eagerly waiting to see the fight. They were even shouting at the referee to start the match while Lan Fan was quietly listening to the conversation going on between the referee and Victoria. After listening to Victoria’s request, the referee went to consult some of the seniors, and because it was the semi-finals, if they would have not agreed to Victoria’s terms then she would have left the tournament. So, they decided to allow weapons in that fight. After getting the permission from the seniors, the referee entered the arena to inform the 2 fighters about the changes. Victoria then went to get her weapon of choice to fight Lan Fan, and in the meantime the announcer announced about the recent changes made to the audience…

Announcer: “Few changes have been made for the first semi-final match. Due to the request of Victoria, the seniors have allowed her to use any defensive tool against Chanel who can use her automail. Rules for defeating remains the same with one addition which is to disarm the opponent, which can be done by making the opponent incapable of using their weapon either by throwing the weapon outside the arena or just making it useless”

After receiving the news, the crowd cheered, now that they were going to see some real fight. After sometime, Victoria came with a riot shield, but it was smaller than a typical riot shield. She could easily lift it with only one hand. Both the fighters took their position and stood in attacking stance, and within a moment the referee whistled to start the fight. With the sound of the whistle, the crowd cheered for the unique fight to begin.

As soon as the match started, Victoria charged toward Lan Fan like a raging bull by placing the shield in front of her. Lan Fan quickly dodged the attack by jumping sideways. When Victoria missed Lan Fan, she stopped and quickly threw the shield toward Lan Fan like a flying disc. Even though the shield was light for Victoria, it was not the same for Lan Fan. When Lan Fan saw the shield coming toward her, she had no time left to dodge it and she used her metal arm to defend herself, because of which she was pushed few steps back near the edge of the arena. When she thought she was safe, she saw Victoria jumping toward her to land a devastating punch. So, she quickly rolled sideways to dodge Victoria’s attack, and Victoria landed a punch on the floor. After dodging, Lan Fan noticed that Victoria’s shield was lying at a distance and she was without any weapon at that moment. Victoria also noticed that she was vulnerable, so she ran toward the shield before Lan Fan could reach the shield. Both the woman were running toward the shield as if their life depended on it. When both the women were at proximity of the shield, they leaped toward it. But, due to Victoria’s greater height, she reached the shield first and quickly used it to block the incoming punch from Lan Fan while lying on the floor. Lan Fan punched with her automail arm and was successfully blocked by Victoria. Lan Fan then kept on raining punches on the shield which Victoria was holding. Victoria was now in a difficult position, she had no option other than hiding behind the shield. Soon when she found the speed of the punches slowing, she rolled out of that place and quickly stood up on her feet holding her shield. But, as soon as she recovered, she felt a heavy hit on her ankles. It was Lan Fan who hit her by a low kick, and as expected by Lan Fan, when Victoria lost her balance and seemed like she was about to fall on the floor, Lan Fan jumped and initiated a kick directed toward her face. But, Victoria somehow managed to control herself and blocked Lan Fan’s attack with her free hand. Because of the force, Victoria was pushed few steps back, and soon after the recent attack, she saw an incoming punch by the automail arm of Lan Fan. She acted quickly and tried to bring the shield in between her and the incoming punch, but she was barely saved by the punch because the punch hit at the edge of the shield and was deflected to hit Victoria’s left triceps. Victoria was pushed few steps back due to the attack, and was about to fall from the edge of the arena, but she barely managed to stay in.

The fight was so good that the crowd was speechless while the fight was going, everyone present there was feeling the intensity of the match. Both the fighters were panting, standing a few feet away from each other. Victoria then looked at Lan Fan and smiled because she was enjoying the fight, and Lan Fan reciprocated her with a smile as she was feeling the same. Soon after that, Lan Fan charged toward Victoria, and Victoria was waiting for her with her shield up and a smile on her face. Watching that, the long silent mob cheered for both of them. Both the fighters were fighting at the edge of the arena, exchanging blows with each other. Lan Fan was fighting like an acrobat and dodging all the incoming attacks from Victoria whether it was a punch, kick or an attack from the shield. Victoria was also blocking all the incoming attacks with her muscular hand and shield. But, suddenly she heard the cracking sound of the shield. When Lan Fan also noticed that, she used her full strength to punch the shield, and as expected, the shield broke. Lan Fan’s automail was proceeding toward Victoria’s face after breaking the shield. Watching the punch coming toward her, Victoria realized that she had no way of surviving that, and she calmly closed her eyes with a smile on her face, and she dropped the half broken shield on the floor. But, when she didn’t feel a hit on her face, she opened her eyes and saw Lan Fan stopped her punch just before her face. Victoria smiled in that situation and replied…

Victoria: “You know, I am not going to yield or getting out of this arena on my own”

Lan Fan: “I know”

Lan Fan then moved few steps and picked up the broken shield. Victoria was not expecting that, her eyes widened out of surprise and she shouted, “NOOOO”. But, it was too late. Lan Fan threw the shield out of the arena, and emerged as the victor of the first semi-final. When the fight ended, the crowd cheered for Lan Fan by saying her name that was “Chanel”, and among all the people present there, Ling’s voice was the loudest.

 

**[Othon – Drachma]**

The chief of weapons department had already realized that his key was stolen and he has suspecting Jane for that. As soon as he found out that his key was stolen, he informed the Marshal of Drachmann Federation, Clifton Kozlov in order to avoid any horrific punishment. Because of his prompt decision, he managed to evade death penalty, but he was instantly removed from his position, and was put in jail. Clifton then interrogated and searched almost every person in the palace, and he organized a search operation in parallel to search for Jane throughout the city. On the other side, Jane was fortunate that she met Boris and Danny before encountering any military personnel.

After getting the key from Jane, Boris gave it to Danny and sent him to Granny’s Cakes in order to pass the key to Gabriella or Maria in the palace. And as promised, Boris was helping Jane to avoid the military by disguising her. He managed to get some wigs and clothes to help Jane disguise herself. He was then going to introduce her to one of his friends in Othon, who was going to help her. In order to meet him, they were going through a market area of Othon which was relatively less populated. Soon they arrived at a shop without any signboard in front of it. When they entered inside, the shop was filled with strange things like old articles, animal bones, herbs etc. There were no customers there beside Boris and Jane who were straight up walking toward the counter. They saw a 16-17 year old boy sitting at the counter watching some funny pictures in a book and laughing, his name was Gary. To get his attention, Boris hit the call bell on the desk. The sudden noise from the bell startled the boy and he looked toward Boris with a surprised face. Boris looked at him and smiled…

Boris: “You should pay more attention to the shop, rather than engaging yourself in looking at those pictures”

Gary: “No one is interested in stealing the stuffs in this shop anyways...Shall I inform Mr. Cout that you are here?”

Boris: “Yes”

Gary went inside a room which was behind the counter, and after sometime he came outside with a man (Appearance: White hair combed backward, brown eyes, fair complexion , Wearing a black t-shirt and a pea coat over it, wearing a small gold earring, well-toned body, 6 feet plus height, in his fifties). The man’s name was Viktor Cout, he was a smuggler and smuggled everything from antiquities to human to weapon, and he was so good at smuggling goods and people that he was never caught by the Drachmann military. He looked at Boris and smiled…

Viktor: “So what bring you to me?”

Boris: “I need your help, can we talk?”

Viktor sighed and turned around toward the room…

Viktor: “Come on”

Boris followed him inside the room, and Jane was also following them, but Boris asked her to wait outside. Inside, Boris was telling everything to Viktor about Jane and the key she stole. Meanwhile, Jane was looking at the articles in the shop outside. She liked to read books, so she went to the book section and was browsing through some books. Suddenly, her eyes fell on a brown covered book with BH written at a corner. The book was looking old and was covered with a bit of dust. Out of curiosity, she picked up the book to check what kind of book it was. When she opened the book, and looked at the front page, she saw the title of the book. It was “The Fairy”, the second book which Berthold Hawkeye wrote. Because that was the only fairy tale book in the shop Jane got interested and started reading the book. After some time, she was startled when she heard a familiar voice calling her…

Boris: “Jane”

Jane looked toward Boris who was standing with Viktor…

Boris: “I have told Viktor everything, and he has agreed to help you get out of this country”

Jane: “WHAT? I HAVE TO LEAVE DRACHMA?”

Viktor: “Believe me, the crime you have committed is very severe. The only safe option is to leave this country as soon as possible”

Jane: “But, I didn’t know that key was so important” (Sad tone)

Viktor: “It doesn’t matter now”

Jane sighed out of disappointment…

Jane: “When are we leaving then?”

Viktor: “Tomorrow 4 AM. One of my men will help you get to Creta, then you are on your own”

Jane: “Can I say goodbye to my family for one last time?”

Viktor: “No”

Jane: “WHY?”

She looked curiously toward Viktor…

Viktor: “Because the military must have known that you stole the key by now, and the first thing they would have done, is to put your home and family under surveillance”

Jane understood the severity of her actions, and agreed to get out of the country for her safety. Boris then left her under the protection of Viktor whom he trusted with his life, and went to complete his job of getting into the Junior Military Academy and find Lab C.

 

**[Gabur- Eastern Military Training Camp for Women]**

After the exciting first semi-final, now was the time for the second semi-final which was between Yin and a military women who was the undefeated champion from 3 years. Yin didn’t bother to even find out who she was, she was pretty confident that she was going to win. Soon the name of the next 2 fighters was announced…

Announcer: “Let us now begin the next match which I am pretty sure will be as exciting as previous match if not more. So, the first fighter is the impressive Zara who beat all her opponents till now without breaking a sweat, and the second fighter is our own champion who is undefeated till now, Second Lieutenant Artemis”

The crowd cheered on the announcement of Artemis’ name. Yin walked toward the arena to face the champion. While she was climbing the small stairs to the arena, she saw a woman (Appearance: Shoulder length brown hair with a clip to hold them together at the back, military uniform with just the inner t-shirt, well-toned physique, height 5.6 feet, in her late twenties) was standing in the arena glaring at her. It was the first time Yin saw Artemis and she didn’t find her intimidating even after her glare. When she entered inside the arena and stood in front of Artemis, Artemis spoke to her…

Artemis: “How a pretty face like you reached to the semi-finals?”

Yin: “You will soon find out”

Artemis: “Don’t come to me if I ruin this face”

Yin: “Are you sure about that? Because you might run hiding your face out of shame when I break your streak”

Instead of Yin, Artemis went ballistic. The referee present there could see her angry face, and Yin smiling back at her…

Referee: “Are you alright Artemis?”

Artemis: “Just start the fight” (Angry tone)

Yin: “Yeah, just start the fight” (Mocking tone)

After listening to the two ladies, the referee whistled and started the match. As soon as the match began, both the fighters maintained some distance from each other. Artemis could see Yin smiling at her, which was making her mad. Because of that, she lost her cool and charged toward Yin and started raining punches and kicks. Yin was blocking and dodging every attack from Artemis, but she was surprised because of the way she was fighting. Artemis was moving her hands and legs in a way which was very familiar to Yin. While fighting…

Yin: “Your fighting style…where did you learn it?”

Artemis: “Why? Is my fighting style bothering you?”

Yin then changed from defensive to offensive. The way she was attacking Artemis was very similar how Artemis was fighting, but more polished than Artemis’ style. Because of this, now Artemis was having difficulty blocking and dodging Yin’s attack. Within few moments, Yin found an opening and attacked Artemis’ chest with her palm. Artemis was pushed back to some distance because of that attack. She was sweating and looking at the floor. When she looked toward Yin, she saw Yin was standing quietly glaring at her. The crowd which was initially cheering for Artemis was now silent, they never thought that Artemis could be dominated…

Yin: “Now tell me, who taught you that fighting style?”

Artemis: “Seems like you have the same fighting style. Why don’t you tell me who taught you?”

Yin: “My father”

Artemis: “Well, I didn’t have a father to begin with. So, I can’t say that”

Artemis then again charged toward Yin even though she realized that she couldn’t beat Yin in a straight fight. When she was close enough, she leaped toward Yin with a flying kick which was dodged by Yin very easily, and then the kick was followed by a punch directed toward the face. Yin blocked it with one hand and countered with a chop directed toward Artemis’ neck. But, Artemis blocked the chop before getting hit by it. While Artemis blocked the chop, Yin grabbed the wrist with which she was blocked and pulled Artemis toward her, then she fiercely attacked Artemis with her knees on the abdomen. The hit was pretty hard, and because of that Artemis spat blood. The referee quickly stopped the match as soon as she saw blood and the crowd there was silent witnessing the brutal fight. The referee talked to Artemis to know her condition…

Referee: “Are you alright Lieutenant?”

Artemis’ lips were stained with blood…

Artemis: “Yes…and don’t interrupt before I teach a lesson to this woman”

Referee: “Okay, but remember, if I feel you are just forcing yourself then I will stop this match and declare Zara as the winner” (She told Artemis in a low voice so that only she could hear)

Artemis didn’t reply to that and stood up properly. The referee resumed the match, and the barrages of kicks and punches continued to be exchanged between the two women. While fighting…

Yin: “Just tell me who taught you this fighting style, and I won’t hurt you” (Stressed tone)

Artemis couldn’t believe that she was being dominated by an unknown woman who was also using the same fighting style, but better than her…

Artemis: “You haven’t defeated me yet”

Artemis was only few feet away from the arena boundary, and Yin had seen that.  Yin then punched straight toward Artemis which was blocked, and then she quickly delivered a low spinning wheel kick. But, Artemis saw through the attack and jumped to avoid it. While Artemis thought she evaded Yin’s attack, she was actually acting what Yin was expecting. When Artemis was in the air, she had no ground to hold on for a grip and she was very close to the edge of the arena. So, Yin used both her hands to deliver a push attack to Artemis while she was in the air. Artemis successfully blocked the attack, but the force of the attack pushed her to the edge. She was hanging at the edge and was unable to balance. She realized that she lost the fight as she was falling from the edge, but suddenly she felt someone held her wrist and prevented her from falling outside the arena. When she looked toward the person who saved her, it was none other than Yin. Yin pulled back her inside the arena, and spoke in a very low voice which only Artemis could hear…

Yin: “See…I can beat you pretty easily”

The insult pierced through Artemis’ heart, even the audience saw that she was saved by her opponent. The insult was too much for Artemis to take on, she fell on her knees. Watching that the organizers and referee were deciding whether to end the match or not, because none of the conditions had satisfied which could end the match. Neither Artemis fell outside the arena, nor she yielded, and she wasn’t even incapable of fighting. In the meantime, Yin looked down to Artemis…

Yin: “Now tell me, who taught you this fighting style?”

Artemis: “I can’t”

Artemis was looking at the floor, very much disappointed with herself. The audience was even silent looking at the scene. The answer which Artemis gave to Yin, made Yin more angry and she was about to punch Artemis on the face which Artemis wasn’t even blocking or dodging. But, before Yin could deliver the punch, she heard a familiar voice and she stopped the punch…

Yang: “STOP IT… I TAUGHT HER”

Yin looked toward her brother and she was surprised to find out that it was her brother who taught Artemis. It was not only her who was looking surprisingly at Yang. Artemis was also looking at Yang with a surprised face. The action scene just turned into drama when Yang interfered and all the attention diverted toward him.

 

**[Central Command]**

After the sudden disappearance of Ling and his group, Roy interrogated the political advisor of Ling, Hue Zemin. But, it turned out that Hue was as clueless as Roy, they had no idea where Ling went along with his bodyguards. Amestris is a big country, so Roy couldn’t decide whether he should organize a search party or not, and there was also the case of nation’s integrity. It would have been very bad for the military, if the news of Ling had been leaked to the public. Roy only gave the news to the Generals, Fuehrer and few more people he trusted. After sorting out the Xingese guest issue, Roy came to his office where his team was preparing to leave. Everyone was cleaning their desk, except Riza who was inside Roy’s cabin cleaning up his desk. Roy wondered why everyone was preparing to leave, and looked at the clock. The office time was about to over and Roy realized it then. He walked toward the sofa and sat to relax for some time. He was closing his eyes when he heard Havoc’s voice…

Havoc: “Too much work today, huh Chief?”

Roy opened his eyes and found Havoc standing in front of him…

Roy: “Yeah, those Xingese are pain in the ass” (tired voice)

Havoc: “Any news about Oliver?”

Roy: “Not yet. Where is Major by the way?”

Havoc: “In your cabin. Maybe putting all the paperwork in places like always”

Roy: “You may be right”

Suddenly the phone in Riza’s desk rang. As Riza was not there to pick up the phone, Fuery quickly went to Riza’s desk and picked up the phone. There was a woman from the Central Command’s operator room, she told something to Fuery, which Fuery relayed to Roy…

Fuery: “Sir, Edward is on the phone. He wants to talk to you”

Roy was surprised…

Roy: “Edward Elric?”

Fuery: “Yes”

Roy quickly stood up and took the receiver from Fuery’s hand. By the time Roy took the receiver, Ed was already connected to the line…

Roy: “Hello”

Ed: “Hey General, hope I didn’t disturb you”

Roy: “From when did you started giving concern whether I am disturbed or not?”

Ed: “I have some crucial news for you”

Roy: “What news?”

Ed: “We met an Ishvalan man at Rush Valley, he claims that he is the brother of the IFF operative we caught during the blast…”

Ed told everything about Bali (The Ishvalan human chimera with an automail arm, introduced in previous chapter) to Roy, from the chimeras of Drachma to Lab C. After listening to everything, Roy spoke…

Roy: “Is anyone near you?”

Ed was talking from a telephone booth in Rush valley. When he heard Roy’s question, he understood Roy was going to tell something very important, so he shut the door of that booth and replied…

Ed: “No” (Ed got serious)

Roy: “We have some information regarding some attack from Drachma. According to General Armstrong’s sources, Drachma is planning to attack Amestris in few weeks, but we don’t know how they are going to attack. If whatever Bali is telling is true, then we have to prepare for a chimera attack which won’t be easy, and if he is telling a lie then we have to find out why”

Ed: “But I saw him turn into a chimera”

Roy: “Some people were experimented and turned to chimera during the Ishvalan war, in fact you have met some of them. Bali could also be one of them who joined IFF”

Ed sighed…

Ed: “So what do you want me to do?”

Roy: “If he told you all this then he must be expecting the military to get to him, but I guess if he is lying then he will try to misguide us. So it will be good if you can keep him with you and try to find out what he is up to…I know I am not your superior now, but please do me a last favor”

Ed grinned listening to Roy’s request…

Ed: “You asked so politely, so I am thinking of doing this” (Bragging tone)

Roy: “Thanks”

Ed: “You’re welcome (He smiled). So, how is Major Hawkeye?”

Roy: “She’s doing very well”

Ed: “Good to know that, and tell her I will bring her a gift from Rush Valley when I come to Central”

Roy: “Fine, and one more thing Ed which I wanted to ask you”

Ed: “What?”

Roy: “WHY DIDN’T YOU RETURN MY BOOK?”

Everyone in that room looked at Roy curiously when they heard him shout. While in the other end of the phone Ed was also startled for a moment due to the sudden shout…

Ed: “Stop shouting you fucking idiot. I will return your book as soon as I get to Central, and by the way, I bought the book from a pawn shop, so it’s technically mine”

Ed then quickly hanged up before Roy could say anything. When Roy hanged up the phone and turned around he found Riza standing in front of him, and all the team members were staring him very curiously…

Roy: “What happened? Why are you all looking me like that?”

Riza: “Why were you shouting Sir? Did something happen?”

Roy: “It was Ed, he was giving me some infor…”

Before he could complete his sentence, the phone rang, and Riza was proceeding to pick up the call, but Roy stopped her…

Roy: “Let me take it, it must be Ed. He must have forgot to tell me something”

Roy picked up the call. He was expecting Ed’s call, but it was someone else. This time it was a soldier who was giving him some very important information which brought a smile on Roy’s face. After getting the message, Roy put the receiver back and turned to face his team…

Roy: “Team… there is a change of plan today. I need your help for something”

Havoc: “Help?”

Roy: “Yes, I received a message from the search party in Cameron. They told me that they have found Oliver, and Thomas Maxwell. According to the search party, they saw Thomas was interacting with Krid Novak, an ex-military officer who was court martialed and relieved from his duty in the beginning of the Ishvalan war. We don’t have much information about him, but he is considered extremely dangerous. Some even say that even Bradley couldn’t fight him head on”

Falman gulped out of fear by just hearing the description of Krid Novak. Everyone in the team understood what Roy was going to ask them, so before he could ask, Breda spoke…

Breda: “So when are we leaving?”

Roy smiled and replied…

Roy: “Tonight”

Fuery: “But there is no train tonight”

Roy: “We will be going by car”

Falman: “Till Cameron?”

Roy: “Yes” (He smiled)

Roy then looked toward Riza who hadn’t spoken a word. He saw a genuine smile on Riza’s face after a long time. When he was about to speak, Riza came close to him and hugged him tightly. Watching that the team smiled. When they were stuck to each other for some moments, Havoc decided to interrupt by clearing his throat. Riza separated from Roy…

Havoc: “Why don’t we make a plan before leaving for Cameron?”

Riza turned toward her team and replied…

Riza: “Right, we need to make a plan”

Fuery looked toward Riza and replied with his smiling face…

Fuery: “Don’t worry Ma’am, we will bring back your son”

Riza was very happy that she had a team, who were ready to go anywhere, anytime whenever she needed them…

 

**[Gabur- Eastern Military Training Camp for Women]**

The semi-finals were over, and that also with the intense dramatic fight between Yin and Artemis when Yang interfered. Yin was declared as the victor and the reign of the undefeated champion was over. After the fight was over, when Yin and Artemis were getting out of the arena, Yang was waiting for them. When Artemis saw Yang in front of her…

Artemis: “What are you doing here? I thought…”

Before Artemis could complete her sentence, Yang signaled her to stop speaking, and Artemis understood…

Yang: “Why don’t we talk somewhere else?”

Because there was time for the finals, everyone in Ling’s team and Artemis went to have some private conversation, away from the public eye. Yin had too many questions and the most prominent one was, how did Artemis and her brother knew each other?

Yin: “Now tell me, how do you know her?”

Artemis was also waiting for Yang’s reply. She also wanted to know about the others. Yang took a deep breath before replying…

Yang: “I should have told you long ago” (Looking toward Yin)

Yin: “Told me what?”

Yang: “Artemis and I are…married”

Yin, Ling: “WHAT!!”

All the Xingese were surprised to find that Yang was married, and that too an Amestrian. Yin looked at Artemis…

Yin: “Are you really his wife?”

Artemis was a bit sad after the defeat, so she replied in a tired tone…

Artemis: “Yes, and you must be Yin then, Yang’s twin sister”

Yin: “Yes”

Artemis then looked toward Ling and Lan Fan…

Artemis: “And who are you?”

Lan Fan: “This is the prince of Xing, prince Ling Yao, and I am his bodyguard, Lan Fan”

Artemis’ mouth was wide open when she found out that a national guest, and the prince of Xing was sitting in front of her, smiling. Out of frustration, she grabbed Yang’s collar and looked at him…

Artemis: “What is the prince doing here? Did you accompany him for the Amestris-Xing meeting?” (She was speaking in a low stressed voice)

Ling: “I ordered him to take me to Cameron, so we fled from Central City” (He said with a smile)

Artemis looked at Ling’s smiling face and then looked back at Yang…

Artemis: “ARE YOU AGAIN GOING TO FIGHT KRID NOVAK?”

Ling: “Yes, and we are going to beat him this time”

Artemis looked at Ling…

Artemis: “Excuse me prince, but can you please let my dear husband answer my questions” (Polite tone)

She then looked toward Yang who was sweating because of the way she was looking at him. Yang then told everything to his wife, and properly introduced Yin and Artemis who were fighting each other few moments ago…

Yin: “So you are telling me, you taught her our family martial art because she is family now?”

Yang: “Yes” (Hesitant tone)

Yin: “Now tell me the truth. Whenever you came to Amestris, did you come for killing Krid Novak or just for meeting your wife?”

Artemis: “He fought him many times, but …”

Yang interrupted his wife to answer his sister…

Yang: “When I was selected as a Zhansi for the first time, I was confident that now I could avenge our father, and I went to fight him. He fought me like he promised us years ago when he killed our father. But, I was no match for him…I was fortunate that he didn’t want to kill me, but because of my own recklessness, I hurt myself pretty badly. And it was Krid Novak who took me to hospital, there I met Artemis who used to come there to see her dying brother. My bed was just beside Artemis’s brother, so she and I became friend gradually. Few months later, after more training, I went back to Cameron to fight Krid, but I failed again. During my fight with Krid, Artemis saw me and asked me to train her as she wanted to get into military. I refused to train her, but eventually we started developing feelings for each other. The next time when I went back to Cameron, Artemis’ brother was dead and she was alone. Instead of trying to kill our father’s killer, I chose to give up to love and married Artemis. I kept on trying to defeat Krid, but I always faced defeat, and Artemis was used to that fact. Gradually, my desire to kill Krid faded, and I started respecting him for the man he was…Now, you must be wondering why did I came to kill Krid then. I knew even if we try together, we cannot beat him. I just didn’t want to disappoint you by showing you that I have given up the thought of revenge”

After listening to her brother’s explanation, Yin sighed out of disbelief. In the meantime, the announcement for the final match was going on and both the fighters were present there…

Yin: “Do whatever you want to do, but tomorrow we are going to Cameron and kill that monster”

She stood up and turned around to move toward the arena…

Yin: “Let’s go Lan Fan, we have a fight waiting for us”

Yang understood that he disappointed his sister, so he remained silent. After sometime both Lan Fan and Yin were in the arena standing in front of each other, this time the referee asked Yin before starting the fight…

Referee: “Do you want Chanel not to use her automail arm?”

The referee asked the question because she saw Yin overpowering their champion, and it would have been a piece of cake for Yin to beat a handicapped Lan Fan. Yin also forgot that Lan Fan’s automail arm was illegal for a fight. So, when the referee reminded her that, she replied what she was supposed to reply…

Yin: “No, she can fight with her automail arm. I don’t have a problem with that”

Referee: “Fine, then choose whatever weapon you want. Remember it should be a defensive one”

Yin: “I don’t need any weapon”

The referee was surprised when she heard Yin’s reply. She couldn’t believe what she just heard…

Referee: “Excuse me?”

Yin: “I said I don’t need a weapon to fight her”

Lan Fan was not surprised of Yin’s decision, after all she was the ninth Zhansi and one of the best fighters of Xing. After sometime, the referee agreed to Yin’s request by consulting with the other organizers. Both the fighters were standing in attacking stance, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle and start the fight. Just before the whistle blew…

Yin: “I am not going to hold back”

Lan Fan: “Neither am I”

When the whistle blew, the crowd cheered for the fighters, and the fight began. Lan Fan knew that if she would give a single opening to Yin, then Yin wouldn’t hesitate to take the opportunity to hit her. In order to be safe, she charged toward Yin and started raining punches without giving any room to Yin. Yin was trying to dodge every attack, because blocking was not an option for the automail arm. While dodging the attacks, one punch was coming straight toward her face, which she dodged by falling on her back on the ground, and then she quickly stood up by spinning both her legs thereby hitting Lan Fan’s ankle in the process. Lan Fan fell on her back due to the attack, and Yin was standing. Yin then put the weight of one foot on the automail arm so that Lan Fan couldn’t use it, and she put her other foot on Lan Fan’s chest so she couldn’t move. Then Yin was about to use her paralyzing attack to paralyze Lan Fan’s right arm, but before Yin could attack, Lan Fan used her free hand to attack at the back of Yin’s knee. Because of the attack Yin lost her balance and retreated few steps back in order to avoid any attack. Getting the opportunity, Lan Fan quickly stood up. Lan Fan then again charged toward Yin without catching a breath, and started raining punches and kicks. Because of the fast punches and kicks, Yin was getting forced toward the boundary. When she thought she was in trouble, suddenly Lan Fan directed an automail punch with full force toward Yin’s belly which was almost impossible to dodge. So, Yin used both her hands to block the attack, and due to the force of the attack, she was pushed back just at the edge of the boundary. While Yin was catching a breath, she saw Lan Fan was charging toward her at full speed. Yin quickly dodged the incoming punch from Lan Fan by moving sideways and grabbed her automail arm. She then bent down and used her palm attack to hit the automail and shoulder joint. The attack was very vicious, and Lan Fan was fortunate that it was her automail arm which got hit by that attack. Lan Fan quickly pulled back her arm from Yin’s grip, and when she was about to hit a punch, her automail arm stopped working. Watching that, Yin relaxed while Lan Fan was trying to make her automail work…

Yin: “Just yield Lan Fan”

Lan Fan was still trying to make her automail work, but it had already taken too much damage from her fight with Victoria and now with Yin. Yin on the other hand was standing there very much relaxed. Lan Fan saw the opportunity as Yin was not on guard, so she jumped and delivered a spinning wheel kick directed toward Yin. Yin was not expecting that attack, and she quickly used her wrist to block the attack without thinking anything. She didn’t see that she was standing just at the edge of the arena, and the force from that was enough to push her out of the arena.  She fell on the ground while Lan Fan was in disbelief that she defeated Yin. The crowd was also in disbelief, then after a moment everyone cheered for the new champion. Yin sat at the ground looking toward Lan Fan who was looking back at her. Initially she also couldn’t believe that she was defeated, but it was her own mistake after all. She smiled at Lan Fan for defeating one of the bests.


	18. Indications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the incident at Central City, Rolan (second in command of IFF) and Geeta (An IFF operative) are meeting someone at the broken temple in Old Ishval , but Scar finds out about the meeting. While in Wellesly (A city of Western area), William J Barns (in charge of Donovan murder case) finds some clues about Iapetus in an abandoned prison. In the Eastern side, Ling and his team encounter something strange on their way to Cameron. Meanwhile, Roy and his team arrives at Cameron to save Oliver and capture Thomas Maxwell. On the other side, in Othon, Boris successfully gets inside the military headquarters.

**[Ishval – In the afternoon]**

Rolan (Second in command of IFF, introduced in Chap 4- Joy and Sorrow) and Geeta (IFF operative, introduced in Chap 9 –Unleashed) were in the broken temple of Old Ishval which was approximately 25 miles away from the Ishval City. They were waiting there to meet someone. After some time of waiting, they heard some footsteps and saw a woman entering through the broken main entrance of the temple. It was Sheela (Teacher in Ishval, introduced in Chap 5 – Legends). She walked close to Rolan and Geeta, and greeted them…

Sheela: “Good afternoon Sir, sorry I am a bit late”

Rolan: “It’s okay Sheela”

Sheela then looked toward Geeta who was looking toward her, as it was the first time both were meeting. So, Geeta decided to go first and introduced herself….

Geeta: “My name is Geeta”

She smiled and forwarded her hand to have a handshake. Sheela shook her hand and reciprocated with a smile…

Sheela: “I am Sheela”

After a few moments when the introduction was over, they started the real conversation for which they all were gathered there…

Rolan: “How is everything going on?”

Sheela: “Converting other Ishvalans to join us is posing a problem here. Even though they have suffered in the hands of Amestrian, they are still ready to forget everything and start living with them as if nothing happened” (Stressed tone)

Rolan: “We have a bad news too”

Sheela started looking at Rolan very seriously…

Rolan: “Our base in Central City was attacked. We lost a lot of men there… moreover, we were unable to kill the attacker”

Sheela: “The attacker? Was there a single person?” (Curious tone)

Rolan: “Yes, but it was not a human…it was something else, a monster maybe, an un-killable one”

Sheela: “A monster?” (Disbelieving tone)

Rolan: “Yes, you may find it unbelievable, but that’s the truth…and our commander went missing because of that. The soldiers who survived went to Dublin”

Sheela couldn’t believe so much happened and she got to know now…

Sheela: “What are we going to do now?” (Concerned tone)

Rolan: “We are going to search for Thomas. You can continue your work for a month, after which you need to come to Dublin with the newly recruited”

Suddenly, they heard a voice…

Scar: “I had doubts that you are working for IFF”

Everyone quickly looked toward Scar who was standing at the main entrance of the temple. There was panic on Sheela’s face that Scar found out the truth about her…

Scar: “I followed Sheela to find out where she was going all alone and it led me here”

Scar slowly started walking toward them…

Rolan: “Are you going to stop us?”

Scar: “No, I am not a man who is good with persuasion and I don’t want to force my own people to change. I understand your pain, I was also like you not long ago, but when I found out the truth I forgave the Amestrians”

Scar stopped a few feet away from Rolan…

Rolan: “What truth?”

Scar told them everything about Father and the seven deadly sins. But even after listening that, there was disbelief on there faces…

Geeta: “Do you seriously want us to believe that crap?”

Scar: “Weren’t you saying you fought a monster a few days back? Even I was also skeptical like you, I didn’t know that homunculus and human chimeras could ever exist, but I saw them all and fought them. The Amestrian were victims just like us, and it had been continuing from centuries”

Rolan: “A shapeshifting immortal homunculus…so, you are saying it started it all?”

Scar: “Yes”

Rolan: “Well, I cannot deny that considering we encountered some chimeras who could shapeshift as well. The military called them, Imitators…still we cannot deny the fact that the state alchemists and the Amestrian military massacred our people”

Scar: “I understand, but we cannot afford one more war. Let us give this government a chance because that is the only good option we have right now”

Hearing that, Rolan laughed a little and replied…

Rolan: “You don’t sound like the Scar I have heard a lot about”

While Rolan and Scar were busy talking with each other, Geeta saw a black particle coming out of the weed-covered temple floor just below her feet. She was looking at the particle slowly moving upward. Out of curiosity, she interrupted the conversation going on…

Geeta: “Hey guys, have you seen anything like this before?”

Everyone looked toward her and saw the black particle slowly ascending. Suddenly, they saw similar kind of particles started emerging from all over the temple floor. Everyone forgot about the IFF issue for a moment and they were looking at the black dust-like particles surrounding them. Scar then remembered his encounters with Homunculus and Father. There also he saw similar kind of particles, but relatively smaller in size to the particles they were looking at right then. He understood, something bad was going to happen, but he had no clue what was that…

Scar: “It’s bad” (Concerned tone)

**[Othon – Capital of Drachma]**

It was one day past since Boris left Jane with Viktor, who was going to help Jane get out of the country, and Boris left to get into the Junior Military Academy with Danny and his pet bear, Toby. Boris had earlier talked with some officials about providing them a big male brown bear, to which they agreed and asked him to bring the bear to the Military headquarters which was situated beside the Junior Military Academy. Boris bought a cage wagon for putting Toby inside it and then rented a truck to pull it in order to take Toby to the military headquarters. When Boris and Danny arrived at the front gate of the military headquarters, they were stopped by the guards. The guards first confirmed their appointment at the main office and then asked Boris to show them the cage which was covered with a huge fabric. Boris followed the orders and got out of the truck. Because the fabric was tied tightly around the cage, it would have taken time to remove the fabric completely. So, he persuaded the guards to peek through the fabric. One of the two guards cut a small hole in the fabric in order to peek through it. When he tried to see through that hole, he saw a huge brown bear was sleeping quietly. He had never seen such a huge creature in his entire life…

Guard1: “Amazing, I have never seen such a magnificent creature in my entire life”

Watching his colleague so fascinated, the other guard got excited to see the bear. He placed his hand on his colleague's shoulder…

Guard2: “Hey, let me see” (Excited tone)

The first guard moved back so that the other guard could see the beast. When the other guard tried to see through the hole, he saw bared canines and salivating mouth of Toby just in front of his eyes. He was startled by the scene and jumped back out of fear. Watching that, the first guard asked…

Guard1: “What happened? Are you afraid of bears now?”

Guard2: “It was too close” (Panting tone)

Boris: “Can we go now, Sir?”

Guard1: “Yes, you can go”

The gate was opened and Boris drove his truck into the military headquarters. He was informed to bring the bear to the back side of the main building which was being used to keep different kinds of animals. So, he took the truck there. When he crossed the main building, he saw a gate which was guarded by 2 guards.  The guards stopped the truck and asked Boris to remove the fabric. Boris and Danny removed the fabric and exposed Toby to the 2 guards present there. But, these guards were not surprised to see Toby as the previous guards were…

Guard1: “You can go now”

After receiving the orders, Boris and Danny moved toward their truck, but they were stopped…

Guard1: “I mean you can go and leave the truck and the wagon here. You will get your money tomorrow along with your truck’s rent and truck”

Boris: “But Sir, you will need us to control the bear”

Guard2: “We can do that ourselves, now leave” (Rude tone)

Boris: “But Sir, he is not like other bears…”

Guard2: “I said…leave” (Angry tone)

Boris understood that no way they could talk to the guards, and persuading them…was like forcing a rooster to lay eggs. So, Boris and Danny quietly started walking away from there. Watching Boris go, Toby got enraged and charged at the steel cage which vibrated the whole wagon. One of the guards tried to scare Toby by poking him with his rifle’s barrel, but Toby pulled his rifle inside the cage using his claws and roared furiously. Both the guards were afraid on watching such an enormous beast behaving like that. To scare them more, Toby again charged at the cage due to which two of the rods were bent. Both the guards were clueless about what should they do, they were not allowed to kill the bear or torture it, and they were failing to calm it down. Instead, they were afraid that the bear might come outside. Watching the situation getting out of control, Boris rushed toward Toby and put his hands inside the cage…

Guard1: “WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOOL?”

The guards were thinking that Toby would rip off Boris’ arm but, they were surprised when they saw the bear was licking Boris’ hand and was calmed down. Boris then patted Toby’s head and pulled out his hand. After that, he didn’t have to say anything because his actions described his usefulness…

Guard2: “How did you do that?” (Surprised tone)

Boris looked at the guard and smiled…

Boris: “Because I know him from when he was just a cub”

After some time, when everything was normal, one of the guards went to meet some higher up and came back to relay the decision made to Boris and Danny…

Guard1: “I talked to my superior, and he agreed to let you stay here”

Boris: “Great”

Guard1: “But your friend has to go” (Looking toward Danny)

Boris had no plan to make the guards let Danny stay with him. So, he talked with Danny and asked him to leave the rest to him. Danny had no option but to agree with him and he left the headquarters leaving Boris behind. After Danny left, Boris got into the truck with a guard accompanying him in order to take Toby to the location where different animals were kept. While driving…

Boris: “Sir, would you mind if I ask you a question?”

Guard: “Ask”

Boris: “Why is that the military need exotic animals for?”

Guard: “To make chimeras”

Boris was shocked, he was not expecting that answer. He thought, the military would try to hide it, but the guard was so blunt…

Guard: “If you don’t know what a chimera is then…. consider it a human with animal abilities. All the soldiers in our special forces are chimeras, in fact, I am a chimera”

Boris gulped. He thought he was about to get killed, that’s why the guard was revealing all those things to him. Because he was certain that he was about to die, he acted bravely…

Boris: “Isn’t that supposed to be a secret? Why are you telling a civilian all this?”

Guard: “Because the Marshall thinks, there is no need for people like me to hide in the shadows anymore”

Boris stopped the truck as they had reached their destination and both of them got out of the truck. The place was basically a big warehouse…

Guard: “Keep the bear here and stay with him. By the way, why did you agree to sell the bear when you have raised him? You must be emotionally attached to him”

Boris: “Money”

Guard: “Of course”

The guard started leaving for the gate and Boris was looking at him with a surprised face. While walking away, the guard said…

Guard: “And don’t worry, you will be allowed to go back once the job with your bear is over”

Boris was relaxed to know that he was safe, but he had one more problem coming ahead. He brought Toby inside the military headquarters, but he was unsure of how to get out of there with Toby even though he had a plan in mind. If he couldn’t find a solid solution to the problem soon, then his best friend would be turned into a chimera.

**[Wellesly – A City in Western Area]**

Wellesly was the place where Lieutenant Donovan (person in charge of restoring Ishval, introduced in chap 5 – “Legends”) was killed by Iapetus (Person who can hypnotize). After few days of his disappearance, Lieutenant Colonel William J Barns (in charge of Donovan murder case, intro – chap 7 – “Motherhood”) was informed about his death. To investigate further, William went to the place where Donovan was killed and he encountered Iapetus for the first time there. It was without a doubt, a frightening experience for William still, he didn’t give up and continued to investigate the case. When he confronted Iapetus for the first time, Iapetus confessed to him that he killed Donovan, but William was still in no position to catch him. So, instead of investigating Donovan’s murder mystery, which was clear to him as a crystal now, he started searching for clues about Iapetus. It was very hard to track down Iapetus because there were no photographs or documents on him, it was like as if the person didn’t exist. When he tried to investigate about Iapetus’ favorite alter ego, Big John (the 7 feet tall man), he found that the man with that appearance and name was long dead. Eventually, he found potential clues while running through some documents in Western Command. According to the documents, Wellesly had the first big prison of Amestris which was built just after the first war of Amestris which took place in 1558 between Amestris and the city-state, Reviere. It was also mentioned that many executions took place in that prison, none of which was public. The people who were executed at that time were mainly the captured soldiers of Reviere and some population who were against Amestris. Gradually the prison was abandoned as most of the dangerous criminals were transferred to the Central City jail, and the remaining normal criminals were kept at Western City jail. The reason why William got interested in the oldest jail was because of the prisoners and the jailers who went crazy for no reason. The number of mental breakdown cases was also very high from Wellesly compared to any other place in Amestris.

Because of these clues, William decided to go to the infamous prison of Wellesly which was now abandoned. He took the first train in the morning to Wellesly and within a few hours, he reached there. He was in a habit of working alone, so he didn’t take an assistant with him.

By the time he reached the abandoned jail which was situated at the outskirt of the city, it was already 2:00 PM on the clock. Wild plants had taken over the jail due to no maintenance. The field before the main entrance into the jail was covered with grass. The prison was built before 1600 so, some of the parts of the prison were built of huge blocks of stones while some part was concrete and iron.  William slowly moved toward the concrete building in front of him and walked through the rusted iron gate. The place was broken at places and sunlight was entering through it making the inside of the building visible even after the absence of any artificial light. William kept on walking forward through the moss covered floor and bug infested surrounding. After walking some distance into the building, he saw another narrow gate which was looking like the way to the prison cells. As expected, the gate was unlocked, and how could that be locked? After all the building was abandoned for a long time.

When William entered through the narrow gate, he could see some stairs which were going downward. He thought that the prison cells must be underground. So, he followed the stairs and just a few feet down there was the prison cell room. Now that he was in the underground part of the building, there was no way light could ever reach there. He could see few inches in front of him due to the light coming from the upper floor, and that also very faintly. So, before moving forward, he pulled out the small flashlight from his coat pocket and switched it on. As soon as he switched it on, he saw the reason why people don’t come to that place. Not even thieves or criminals tried to hide in that abandoned prison.

The place was filled with blood stains and scratch marks made from human nails. He then remembered the bloody riot that took place at the Wellesly Prison a very long time ago. He read about the riot in one of the documents about the prison. The riot broke down mainly because some of the prisoners lost their minds and started killing their inmates and the guards. Because of this, the gates to the prison cells were locked by the guards from the outside. And the horrifying bloodbath which took place after that was one of the most violent events recorded in Amestrian history. When the killings were over, few men were alive, but they were even killed by the guards on the suspicion that the craziness of the prisoners was contagious.

Even after knowing all these facts, William bravely kept on walking more and more inside the prison with his flashlight. After walking some distance, he saw another gate which was also unlocked. Because of his overwhelming curiosity, he proceeded toward the door in that darkness with his flashlight. He first looked from the gate to see what was beyond that. He again saw some stairs going down, but this time the stairs were quite high. Each stair was like a foot high. Without thinking anymore, he moved his right foot toward the first stair which was one foot down, but suddenly he heard a sharp hissing noise and something leaped toward his foot. William quickly moved back his foot in order to avoid the attack. He saw a pitch black cobra was peeking his head out from below the first stair. Watching that, William calmed down because it was only a snake. He was trained in the military on how to catch a snake, so he picked up a stick lying on the floor and used his snake catching skills to get a hold of that snake. After catching the snake, he let it go free at the upper floor. He then came back to the same spot to continue his exploration, and this time he was first looking at the corner of the stairs before taking them. After following the stairs for some time in a spiral fashion, he reached the end of the stairs and saw a thick solid metallic door standing in his way. When he tried to open the door, he found out that it was locked and there was no way he could open the door with simple tools.

After coming this far he didn’t want to go back, but he had no other option at that moment. So, he took the stairs back to the prison cells floor. When he reached the last stair, he saw a big key lying on the floor at the same place where he saw that snake. The key was placed on the stair in such a way that as if someone placed it there. William was startled when he saw the key. He quickly pulled out his gun and used his flashlight to look around if someone was there. He understood that someone placed the key there, so he shouted in the hope to get a response…

William: “WHO IS HERE? SHOW YOURSELF”

He continued to search for a few minutes, and when he got no response, he moved back to the place where he saw the key. The key was still there, so he picked it up and moved toward the solid metallic door at the end of that staircase. He put the key in the keyhole of that door. The key entered inside very easily and when William turned the key, it turned very easily. William could hear the door unlocking in that silence when he turned the key. He then moved the handle of the door and pushed it. The door opened and William saw a huge vacant room in front of him. He went inside the room to explore more.

There was nothing in that room other than dust, broken chunks of wood and mosses on the walls and floor. Suddenly he heard a familiar voice…

Iapetus: “Isn’t it suspicious? A vacant room behind a solid metal door and that also below a prison cell?”

William used his flashlight to look everywhere with a gun in the other hand, but he was unable to find anything. Then he again heard the voice…

Iapetus: “I already told you. You cannot find me…even if I am right in front of you”

Suddenly, Big John (The 7 feet tall alter ego of Iapetus) appeared right in front of William due to which William got startled and fired 2-3 shots from his gun, and he saw none of the bullets hit John. John sighed to William’s response and replied…

John: “I guess you have already tried that on me”

William: “Was that you who placed the key on the stair?”

John: “Who else you thought will it be?”

William: “It seems this place was locked from a long time. Maybe you were hiding something here”

John: “Absolutely correct” (He laughed and applauded him)

William: “Then why did you let me in?”

John: “Just making our game a bit more interesting…Now let me help you a bit more”

Suddenly the room was lighted as if someone put some big flashlights in that room. William could now see everything in that room…

John: “There is one more room below this floor. If you can finding an entrance to there, you may find something really interesting”

William then looked at an arrow mark floating in the air pointing downward. Then he looked back at John with a curious face, to which John replied…

John: “Go. Maybe that’s the entrance and God is helping you right now”

William knew that it was John who was showing him those illusions still, he moved toward the arrow and saw a closed lid of around 3 feet X 3 feet cross section on the floor. He opened the lid, and as expected there was a room present there. There was a stair leading down to the room. William took the stairs to get into the room. Because it was dark there, he used his flashlight to look around. He first looked at the ceiling and the walls. The room was one third the size of the upper floor. Then he looked at the floor and he was surprised to see what was there. It was a big transmutation circle drawn there. William was unable to deduce what a big transmutation circle was doing there...

John: “That’s a transmutation circle for creating philosopher’s stone”

William could hear John’s voice even though he was not with him down there…

William: “Philosopher’s stone is a myth, nothing like that exists in this world” (Disbelieving tone)

John: “There are a lot of things that your military hid from you. And this is one of those things…Do you know what was a key ingredient of making a philosopher stone?”

William: “What?”

John: “Human souls”

William didn’t believe in souls, magic and God…he was a rational man, but then from few days, he was watching some unrealistic things after his encounter with John because of which he started to believe whatever John was telling him…

John: “Now do you understand why the prison was made here?”

William gulped, he was unable to speak for a moment…

John: “There is one more thing you should know. This prison is constructed over a crater formed by a small meteor a long time ago. The first prison of Amestris was built in Wellesly only because it had a cosmic crater”

William: “Why are you telling me all of this? Are you going to kill me like Lieutenant Donovan?” (Stressed tone)

Iapetus (John and Iapetus are the same people) who was sitting on the floor above, responded with a “hmmm” sound as if he was thinking. Then he replied…

Iapetus: “No, I just want to give you a chance to fight back. It will be boring if I kill you right now”

William then replied, but not the way Iapetus was expecting…

William: “Is there really any need of showing me these black dust-like particles?”

Iapetus got confused…

Iapetus: “What do you mean black dust-like particles?”

William: “The ones flowing in front of me”

Iapetus gazed through the opening to the room and saw some black particles floating up through the flashlight that William was holding. Iapetus then looked in the floor where he was present and saw some black particles moving up. Because Iapetus was able to see in darkness, he could see all the black particles that were floating in that floor and moving upward. Watching that he was not surprised instead, he smiled…

Iapetus: “So, it has started”

 

**[In the Road connecting Gabur and Cameron]**

When Artemis (wife of Yang) found out the truth about Ling, she thought of informing the military, but Ling and Yin persuaded her not to. They also convinced her to give them a lift to Cameroon as there was no other transportation mode available in that town. So, after having their breakfast, all of them went to Cameron in a roofless jeep. Victoria (the tall woman who fought Lan Fan) also tagged along with Artemis just to give her some company. Victoria was sitting in the driver seat and Artemis was sitting beside her in the front. Everyone else was sitting at the back.

Victoria also found out the truth about Artemis and Yang’s relationship as well as the real identity of Ling and his group, but she didn’t bother her senior officer about that or leak the information to other military personnel. While driving toward Cameron on a dirt road…

Victoria: “Is everyone good at fighting in Xing?”

Ling: “You can say that. Most of the people in Xing learn self-defense from childhood”

Victoria: “I mean, Yin defeated Lieutenant Artemis which I never could”

Ling: “There is nothing to be ashamed of, after all, Yin is the ninth greatest warrior of Xing”

Yang: “Victoria, I understand why Artemis didn’t inform the military about us, but why didn’t you do that?”

Victoria: “Just consider it a favor” (She smiled)

Yin was quietly observing her brother from the morning, and she didn’t see her brother talk with his wife. This odd behavior was bothering her, so she interrupted the talk going on between her brother and Victoria…

Yin: “Are you two planning to have kids?”

Everyone understood the question was meant for Yang and Artemis. And the sudden question from Yin made the environment a bit uncomfortable for Yang and Artemis. Yang stopped speaking to Victoria and slowly turned his neck to look toward his sister with a surprised face. Artemis, on the other hand, was still looking forward. Yin looked at her brother’s surprised face and repeated her question…

Yin: “ I said, are you two planning to have kids. You two are married, after all, you must have thought about that at some point in time”

Yang cleared his throat before replying to her question…

Yang: “See…we…”

Yang was hesitating a lot to reply to that question, and before he could speak any more in gibberish, Artemis interrupted…

Artemis: “Your brother doesn’t like kids”

She then turned back and looked at Yin with a sad puppy face. Everyone in the jeep was shocked because no one was expecting Artemis would act like that. Even Yin didn’t know how to react and Yang was avoiding any eye contact with his wife…

Artemis: “I told him a million times that I want a baby, but he denied every time. I also told him that I will take care of our child and he doesn’t need to bother, still, he ignored my wish. Please, can you convince your brother?” (Sad tone)

Yang was feeling embarrassed while his sister was laughing hesitantly…

Yin: {Why did I even start this conversation? Looks like my brother’s married life is not going so well}

Suddenly, Victoria pushed the brake and stopped the jeep. Everyone was pushed a little forward because of that, and the uncomfortable conversation going on was put to halt. Artemis looked at Victoria and asked…

Artemis: “What happened? Why did you stop?”

Victoria: “Look forward”

Everyone looked forward and saw broken trees and rocks lying on the road. The scene was looking as if a cyclone hit that area. Everyone got out of the jeep as they couldn’t go any further without clearing the obstacles…

Victoria: “What should we do now?”

Yin: “How far is Cameron from here?”

Artemis: “It should be 10-12 miles from here”

Yin: “I guess Yang and I can clear the trees and rocks, but it will take a few minutes to do that I guess”

Artemis: “, That will be great”

Meanwhile, Ling was wandering around and heard water flow. Out of curiosity, he asked Artemis…

Ling: “Is there a river nearby?”

Artemis: “Yes, if you can walk a hundred meters or so, you will encounter a small river. The railway bridge which broke is built over this river”

Ling and Lan Fan moved toward the river while Yang and Yin started cleaning the broken trees and rocks using alkahestry. Victoria and Artemis also stayed back in order to help the twins.

While Ling and Lan Fan were going toward the river, they saw footprints of some creature on the ground. They were the footprints of human limbs, both front, and rear, but they were abnormally big for a normal human. The footprints were going toward the direction where the railway bridge was present…

Ling: “Don’t you think these footprints are very large?”

Lan Fan: “Yes”

Ling: “HEY ARTEMIS, CAN YOU COME AND HAVE A LOOK AT THESE FOOTPRINTS?” (Looking toward Artemis)

Artemis: “Footprints?”

Artemis and Victoria went toward Ling and Lan Fan to see what they were talking about. When they saw the footprints, even they were amazed…

Victoria: “Is it of some monster’s?”

Artemis: “Whatever this thing is, it went toward the railway bridge. Maybe this thing broke the bridge…maybe all these broken trees and rocks are it’s doing”

Suddenly, all the Xingese felt some strange chi and everyone went to defensive stance. Yang and Yin also left clearing the road and rushed toward their prince. Watching that, Artemis and Victoria were confused…

Artemis: “What happened?”

Yang: “There is something here”

Artemis: “What are you saying? I don’t see anyone here besides us”

Yin: “Are you guys sensing the same thing which we sensed at that cave?”

Ling, Lan Fan, Yang: “Yes”

Artemis: “It is not funny guys” (Concerned tone)

Suddenly, a black dust like particle emerged from the ground and started moving up to the sky slowly and steadily. Now, Artemis and Victoria understood why the Xingese were acting like that…

Artemis: “What is this?”

Artemis tried to touch the black particle, but she didn’t feel anything when her finger touched the particle. At that time, more black particles started emerging from the ground below them and they were slowly forming a streak toward the broken bridge. Artemis and Victoria were watching something like that for the first time…

Artemis: “What is going on?” (Anxious tone)

Yin: “We have encountered these things earlier in a cave in the Great Desert when we were taking shelter from a sandstorm”

Yang: “Maybe these particles are somehow related to this creature (Looking toward the footprints on the ground)…Both the footprints and the streak formed by the black particles are going in the direction of the broken bridge. And I assure you, whatever this black particle is… it obviously isn’t anything of this world”

There was panic on everyone’s face as they were expecting something bad was going to happen.

 

 

**[Cameron – Hometown of Riza]**

Roy’s team including Black Hayate had arrived at the outskirt of Cameron. They left Central City in civilian clothes at night without informing any other military officials about their mission. They came prepared to Cameron with all the tools and ammunition required to catch Thomas Maxwell and save Oliver. They kept their cars at the outskirt of Cameron and were preparing to get inside the town…

Roy: “We will be separating from here…Everyone knows their job?”

Team: “Yes Sir”

Roy: “Remember, our first priority is to save Oliver. Moreover, we have little to no information about Krid Novak, we only know that he is dangerous. So, try not get involved with him. Understood?”

Team: “Yes Sir”

Roy smiled…

Roy: “Good. Let’s go and finish this once and for all”

Roy and his team then moved toward the town according to the plan.


	19. Hunt and Hunted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After encountering the black particle phenomenon at Old Ishval ruins, Scar goes to meet his master to get some answers and finds some strange history of Ishval. On the otherside, Roy and his team are all set to capture Thomas Maxwell (IFF leader) and rescue Oliver, but they are attacked by the creature which attacked IFF in central city ( Chapter 9 - Unleashed).

**[Old Ishval – 25 miles away from Ishval City]**

Scar and the other members of IFF encountered some strange phenomenon at the ruin of the Old Ishval temple. Even though Scar had seen those kind of black particles, he was still in doubt. He wasn’t sure whether that phenomenon linked back to Father and the Homunculus or it was something else. But his doubt cleared when Geeta and Rolan told him about the monster that attacked their base because it was also not their first time to encounter the black particles for the first time. When they saw the particles, they remembered the particles emerging from the wound of the monster were similar to the black particles they encountered in the ruins. After getting the overall scenario, Scar got concerned, he thought the issue of the monster might be more important than the IFF issue. He asked Rolan and Geeta to come with him to the Ishval City in order to get some answers from his master because his master was the only one alive in his knowledge who knew the full history of Old Ishval and many more. All of them were sitting inside Pandit’s (Scar’s Master’s name) home, having a conversation with him to get the answers to the supernatural phenomenon going on….

Pandit: “I have never heard of such phenomenon you are describing. In fact, it’s the first time I am learning about those black particles you are mentioning”

Scar: “I have seen those black particles from when I fought the homunculus in Central City”

Rolan: “And we have seen those particles while we were fighting the monster in Central City”

Pandit: “I am not sure what to believe any more…monsters, homunculus” (He sighed)

Scar: “Master, do you happen to know anything about the temple at Old Ishval which I don’t?”

Pandit: “Hmmm…now that you have asked…there is one thing which no Ishvalan knows about the Old Ishval. Even I was not supposed to know about them as it was forbidden even for the elders of Ishval to mention their names. But, it was the responsibility of the previous elder to pass on all the knowledge to the next elder, so now I am burdened with the wisdom. By passing on this knowledge, I will be breaking the promise made to my predecessors, but then we have already broken many laws like accepting people performing alchemy and killing innocents” (He chuckled)

The killing innocent part struck Rolan, Geeta and Sheela’s heart like a spear. They knew their elder was disappointed with them, and they lowered their head out of guilt…

Pandit: “You must have heard that there was one Ishvalan man who went with Asura and brought alchemy to Ishval and nobody knows his name. But, there were actually 4 Ishvalans who learned alchemy from Asura and became the first alchemists besides the Xerxians (people of Xerxes which was suddenly destroyed very long ago). Their real names were lost very long ago, but they were given names by the Ishvalan elder when they left Ishval…. **Mizaru,** he lost his eyes when he performed his first human transmutation… **Kikazaru** , he lost his hearing ability completely when he performed the same taboo…. **Iwazaru,** he lost his voice for the same sin committed by the others. And then there was **Shizaru** who never performed a human transmutation and swore to teach how alchemy can be used for good of the world. Most of the alchemists whom you see nowadays root back to Shizaru. All 4 of them were banished from Ishval after the Old Ishval was destroyed by God Ishvala. That’s the part of the story I know”

Sheela: “Does that mean there is more to it?”

Pandit: “Yes, if you want to know the rest of the story, you need to find one of them?”

Sheela: “They can’t be alive after so many centuries”

Pandit: “Of course not, but they had disciples to whom they passed their knowledge”

Scar: “Does the rest of the story is really relevant?”

Pandit: “I can’t say because I don’t know it. But, one of the disciples might be of some interest to you” (Looking toward Scar)

Scar got curious after listening to that…

Pandit: “You see...we don’t know about the first three alchemists on where they went after they were banished from Ishval. But, the fourth alchemist, Shizaru was in Amestris, teaching alchemy to some people. Later the students started taking in their own disciple and that’s how alchemy spread in Amestris. But, there was one lineage of Shizaru which was considered the purest. The lineage kept on lengthening but in a one student one teacher way. Initially, Shizaru took in a disciple who was his favorite and passed more than just the knowledge of simple alchemy. The disciple then passed on the knowledge to his favorite disciple and it kept on going on that way”

Scar: “I didn’t understand why this lineage thing might be any interest to me?”

Pandit: “Where do you think your brother learned alchemy?”

Scar: “Do you mean…”

Pandit: “Yes…he was the last disciple of the purest lineage of Shizaru” (He sighed)

Scar was in utter confusion, he didn’t know what to say to his Master...

Pandit: “There it goes, I made a promise to your brother that I won’t let anyone know about his secret, but it doesn’t matter now that he is dead”

Scar: “Is his master alive?” (Stressed tone)

Pandit: “Yes”

Scar: “Where can I find him?”

Pandit: “Tobha. It is a village at the border of South Area and East Area, you will find all your answers there”

Scar: “Fine, tomorrow morning, I will be leaving for Tobha then”

Rolan: “Geeta and I will be going with you”

Scar: “Do as you please”

Looking at her colleagues going with Scar, Sheela also wanted to go with them as her cover was blown now…

Sheela: “I also want to come”

Scar: “No”

Sheela was not expecting a denial from Scar, yet she got one…

Sheela: “What do you mean no?”

Scar: “You have a very important job here, and I don’t mean gathering soldiers for your meaningless war. I mean you have a job of a teacher here, the children rely on you. You have to stay with them, help them shape a better future, help them see an Ishval which we crave to see”

The words from Scar’s mouth successfully penetrated to Sheela’s heart, she could understand what Scar meant to say. She understood that the darkness which was residing in her heart for the Amestrians was never going to light the path of the young Ishvalans to a better future. And she never hoped that such optimistic words would come out someone’s mouth who was once a revenge seeker.

 

**[Cameron]**

Everyone in Roy’s team had taken their position around the lake in civilian clothes where Thomas Maxwell (Head of IFF) was relaxing, the same place where Roy and Riza had lots of memories under the shady black olive tree. Riza was 300 meters away from the Thomas, inside an abandoned broken house with her sniper rifle as well as Fuery and Hayate. Thomas was fully unaware that the best sniper in Amestris had her eye on him through a sniper scope. Fuery was operating a newly developed radio communication device which was basically channeling the conversation of the team members, and it was very small compared to the previous communication tool that they used. Moreover, it was a purely wireless device whose communication radius was only 500 meters.

Falman and Breda were circling the area to see if any suspicious person was present there, more specifically, any IFF operative. When Roy received the confirmation from Falman and Breda that there was no suspicious person in proximity, Roy spoke to them through the communication device he was wearing…

Roy: “Do you see Oliver?”

Breda: “Negative”

Falman: “Negative”

Roy: “Fine, I am proceeding toward Thomas. Havoc will be leaving the operation to search for Oliver. Am I clear Havoc?”

Havoc: “Yes Chief”

Roy: “And don’t try to approach Oliver if you see someone suspicious around him”

Havoc: “Yes Chief”

Havoc then left his team to get inside the town in search of Oliver, and Roy slowly started moving toward Thomas with his ignition gloves on. He walked more and more close to Thomas, he was expecting that Thomas would notice him, but Thomas was in some other thought while looking toward the peaceful lake. When Roy stood just beside him, he looked at him…

Thomas: “Hello, do you want something?” (He said with a smile)

Roy was unaware that Thomas had lost his memories, so he thought that the IFF leader was mocking him. Roy got angry…

Roy: “Don’t try to act smart” (Stressed tone)

While Roy was talking to Thomas, he didn’t switch on the mike, so everyone in his team who were looking at him was clueless on how Thomas was acting so calm…

Thomas: “What are you talking about?” (He looked at Roy with a confused face)

Roy: “Where is Oliver?”

Thomas carefully looked at Roy's face and he could see a hint of Oliver in his face…

Thomas: “Are you related to Oliver?”

Roy was losing his patience. He grabbed Thomas’ kurta by the neck area and pulled him close to his face…

Roy: “Don’t act like you don’t know me” (Angry tone)

Thomas: “I am not…unfortunately, I lost my memory in an accident”

Roy: “What?” (Surprised tone)

He left Thomas’ kurta…

Thomas: “I don’t know why you are angry with me, but if I have done anything which hurt you, then please pardon me”

Roy was confused. He couldn’t comprehend whether Thomas was telling him the truth or it was just an act. Watching him from a distance, even his team was clueless about what was going on there…

Roy: “Where is Oliver?”

Roy asked him in a little calm tone this time than previous…

Thomas: “Either Oliver would be playing with other kids or he would be in Mr. Novak’s house. He will come here after some time I guess”

Roy: “Do you mean Krid Novak?” (Surprised tone)

Roy quickly switched on his mike and spoke to his team…

Roy: “Breda”

Breda: “Yes Sir”

Roy: “Go to Krid Novak’s house as fast as possible. It’s the isolated house just beside the graveyard. Confirm whether Oliver is there or not, but do not try to approach Krid Novak. Am I clear?”

Breda: “Yes Sir”

Breda quickly ran toward the Krid’s house. Roy couldn’t communicate with Havoc and Breda at that moment because they were out of range. After Breda was gone, Roy looked toward Thomas…

Thomas: “Are you from the military?”

Roy was still in doubt whether Thomas really lost his memory or not…

Roy: {Is he really not recognizing me?}

Roy: “Yes”

Roy replied to Thomas’ question believing he lost his memory because even if Thomas didn’t lose his memory, he knew about Roy…

Thomas: “Do you happen to be General Roy Mustang?”

Roy was surprised for a moment…

Roy: “How do you know that?”

Thomas: “So you are. No need to get surprised though (He chuckled)…Oliver told me about you, and he looks a lot like you”

Roy looked toward the lake where Thomas was looking, watching the red light from the setting sun getting reflected by the lake, making it look red and showing its true self, THE RED LAKE…

Roy: “So, do you remember, how you ended up here?”

Thomas started giving him all the details he could remember, and with the mike on Roy’s team could also hear whatever Thomas was saying. Meanwhile, before Breda, Havoc had reached Krid Novak’s house. He went to Krid’s house not because Roy ordered him, but because he thought of searching that place first. He was standing just outside the house which was at an isolated place, and no person was visible in the proximity. He got inside the gate and looked at the doormat to find a clue of any child going inside the house, but he couldn’t find any. He still had a gut feeling that Oliver could be there, so he went more close to the house and tried to peek inside the house through the windows or any opening to the house even if it were small. Unfortunately, all the windows were closed but, they had cracks on them. So, Havoc tried to peek through the cracks. While he was peeking through cracks of one of the windows, he heard a voice from the back which startled him…

Krid: “What are you doing?”

Havoc slowly turned around with a panicked face. He saw Krid Novak was standing in front of him…

Krid: “Why are you afraid? Did you come here to steal something? Well I don’t have anything of monetary value”

Havoc saw the clouded eyes and understood that it was Krid Novak. His team was warned explicitly not to approach him in any condition… 

Havoc: “No Sir, you are getting it wrong” (He said with a hesitant laugh)

Krid: “Then what are you doing here?”

Havoc: “I knocked on the door, but no one responded so I was checking through the windows if anyone was home or not”

Havoc was unaware of the fact that Krid was a chimera, in fact, no one in the military knew about it except King Bradley, who was dead now. Krid could hear the elevated heartbeat of Havoc, he was also certain by the smell of Havoc that he was not from the town. He also found out about the gun that Havoc was carrying due to the gunpowder smell…

Krid: “Why are you carrying a gun with you?”

Havoc’s heart started beating like a steam engine, he started sweating. He was surprised by the fact that he was hiding his gun perfectly still, Krid found about it…

Havoc: {How did he find about the gun?}

Krid: “Now you are sweating and you are afraid more than before…I am going to ask you one last time, and if you don’t answer my question then I will have to try some other method…so, why did you come here with a gun?”

Havoc was losing his cool, he felt like if he was going, to tell the truth, then Krid would kill him, and if he didn’t tell the truth, Krid was still going to kill him. So, he decided to attack Krid...

Havoc: {Fuck it}

Havoc was about to pull out the gun from under his jacket, but before he could do that, he felt a sudden push, and the next thing he saw was he was stuck on the wall of the house with Krid’s hand on his neck. He couldn’t understand how did Krid moved and pushed him to the wall when he couldn’t even see the attack happening. Then Krid moved his other hand close to Havoc’s face and nails on that hand started growing, and his hand started appearing like a claw. Havoc was now certain that his end was near, so he calmed down and spoke to Krid…

Havoc: “So you are not a human” (Constricted tone)

Krid: “I was once…have you come here to finish me off, now that Bradley is dead. Well, it will take a whole battalion to stand against me, even after that it’s not sure that I will be defeated”

Krid was slowly tightening his grip on Havoc’s neck, making breathing difficult for him…

Krid: “You know, it has been a long time since I killed a man. I didn’t want to get into that dirt again, but people like you don’t let me live a peaceful life…Oh and one more thing before you die, you should be thankful that I am giving you a quick death because smoking was going to give you a slow and painful one”

Suddenly a gunshot noise echoed in the surrounding, and the bullet was coming straight toward Krid. Before the bullet could hit Krid, he left Havoc’s neck and dodged the bullet. Havoc fell on the ground on his knees and tried to catch breathe while Krid looked toward the direction from where the gunshots were fired. He saw Breda was standing there looking at him in fear, and within a few seconds, Breda fired 3 continuous shots at Krid. And before Breda could fire the fourth short, he realized that Krid was grabbing his hand in which he was holding his gun. Krid pressed his hand, making the gun fall on the ground, and soon after that, Krid grabbed his neck and lifted him in the air. Suddenly, there was a gunshot and it was fired by Havoc to save his colleague. Havoc was hoping that this time the bullet would hit Krid, but unfortunately, something terrible happened. Krid put Breda just before him and the bullet hit Breda’s shoulder. Havoc couldn’t believe that Krid brought Breda in between the bullet and him in a fraction of second, his eyes were widened out of surprise. He dropped his gun because he realized that he was never going to hit Krid with simple gunshots. Krid first looked at Breda who was groaning in pain and then looked at Havoc who had given up and was staring the ground in disbelief…

Krid: “You should have learned about me before coming here”

Both the soldiers had given up, they were waiting for their death. But, suddenly Krid felt something which made him uneasy. He left Breda’s neck, making him fall on the ground and turned around toward the direction of the lake and ran as if something terrible was happening at the Red Lake.

Meanwhile, at the Red Lake, Thomas told everything he remembered to Roy from Oliver and other kids saving him to how he met Krid Novak. Riza, Fuery, and Falman had also listened to Thomas’ story through the microphone. After listening to Thomas, Roy spoke to Riza through the mic…

Roy: “Major, any sign of Havoc or Breda”

Riza saw through her sniper scope to browse through the perimeter and found no sign of those two. But, she saw a group of children running toward the lake from the opposite end of where Roy was standing. The other end of the lake was approximately 150 meters away, and there were few shady trees on the way, so Riza couldn’t see whether Oliver was among those children or not…

Riza: “No sign of Havoc or Breda, but I can see a group of children coming”

Roy also heard the noise of the children coming toward the lake at the other end. Roy couldn’t see whether Oliver was among them or not because of the tree shadows and also because the sun was about to set. He could see one small boy was chasing 4 other children, the children were clearly playing tag. All the children were trying to avoid getting tagged by that boy, and while avoiding them they came out of the shadows, near the edge of that lake. The lake was shallow near the edges on that side, and there was a uniform decline. So, there was no fear of getting drowned near the edge of the lake.

When the children came out of the shadows, Roy saw the boy who was trying to tag the other children. A smile appeared on his face because it was his son. He felt very happy because his son was alright and moreover, Oliver seemed happy and playing with the children around his age. Riza and the other team members also saw Oliver, but Oliver was too much into the game that he didn’t notice his father was standing at the opposite side of the lake. Roy was just smiling, he didn’t even bother to call his son while he was having some fun. Riza also came out of the house with her sniper gun and stood outside the broken house just to see her son playing.

Oliver was trying to tag one of the other children, but everyone was fast except Isa (the girl in the group, introduced in chapter 10 – Savior). Somehow she got too close to the edge of the lake and had nowhere to go, so Oliver charged at her getting that opportunity and tagged her. He actually pushed her too hard in the name of tagging and Isa fell in the lake. Fortunately, it was just shallow water, but there was still mud there which ruined her clothes…

Oliver: “Sorry” (He said with a guilty face)

Isa stood up with an angry face. She didn’t respond to Oliver and started cleaning off the mud from her clothes with the water. The game was in a halt for that reason and everyone sat there to relax for some time. Oliver was standing at the edge of the lake when he saw a man looking toward him from the opposite side. He looked more carefully and was surprised to find out that his father was looking at him…

Oliver: “Dad?” (Surprised tone)

Roy also noticed that Oliver saw him, and being the flame alchemist, he snapped to create a fire at the middle of the lake, in the air. Everyone was fascinated to see the view…

Alvin (one of the children): “Wow, is that your dad?”

Oliver: “Yes” (He replied with a smile)

Alvin: “He is too cool” (Fascinated tone)

Suddenly everyone present there heard some footsteps, and the vibration due to whatever was running was making the water in the lake form ripples. Thomas stood up and looked back to see what was approaching them. Everyone present there were looking in the direction from where the noise was coming from, and gradually the noise and the vibration in the ground was increasing…

Roy: “What is happening?”

Riza tried to look through her sniper scope in the direction to see what was approaching, but due to the trees, she couldn’t see anything…

Riza: “I am unable to see anything, Sir”

Roy: “I have a feeling, whatever is coming in this direction, is bad news” (Stressed tone)

Everyone was prepared to attack while the noise of the footsteps was increasing. The tension was building up in the environment with every second. And finally there wait was over when the creature jumped out of the shadows. It was looking like a human with 4 arms and 2 legs, who was crawling with the help of its limbs. Its eyes were glowing red like hellfire. Its jaws were like that of a great white shark, having different layers of saw-like teeth. It had palm like a human, but instead of fingers, it had long and sharp claws. There was human skin on some of its body parts like half of its face and some region of the torso.

When the creature jumped out of the shadows, it stood right in front of Roy, just 25-30 meters away from him. Everyone present there were looking at the terrifying creature which was glaring Roy with its hellish eyes. When the creature was just about to move another step, a bullet pierced through its head. Even after having a hole in its head, the creature was still standing, but soon another bullet pierced through its head and the creature fell on the ground. Roy looked toward Riza who was lying on the ground with her sniper rifle. When he thought it was over, he saw the hole in the creature’s head was filling up. Watching that, he looked at Thomas who was stunned by the events going on…

Roy: “LEAVE THIS PLACE AT ONCE”

As soon as Thomas received Roy’s warning, he ran from that place. By that time, the creature was fully healed and was standing on its limbs, glaring Roy. Riza couldn’t believe that she would encounter something like the homunculus again…

Riza: “This is bad…Fuery, bring out the REAPER”

Fuery: “Yes Ma’am”

Fuery went inside the broken house where they had set their equipment and brought out a big sniper gun which had a 2 feet long barrel with a mouth opening of 5 inches diameter. It had a 1-foot long sniper scope. There were 3 attached bipods to keep the gun on a surface at some height and to reduce the recoil force. To make the gun stand up to its name, THE REAPER, the bullets used in it were not normal bullets. The bullets were 7 inches long and 4 inches wide with a square face of 1X1 inches cross-section. The bullets were packed with explosives which were meant to went through the target’s skin and explode from inside the target’s body. The weapon was a newly developed prototype from the R & D department of the Amestrian military which was showcased to Roy and Riza for the approval of starting production. The R & D department got the approval, but Riza liked the prototype so much that she kept the prototype with her.

While Riza was setting up her new toy, Roy was about to attack the creature, but he wasn’t sure about where to pinpoint attack it so that the creature would sustain maximum damage. In the case of Envy, Roy targeted his eyes because of the fluid content of eyeballs, but that was not the case here. The creature’s eyes were glowing instead of looking like a regular eye, they seemed like they were already set on fire. So Roy decided to burn the creature whole and snapped. In a fraction of second, the creature’s body was lit on fire due to which the creature started screaming. The sharp scream was echoing in the surrounding. Whoever was in the proximity of that place ran away from there to some safe place. But, Roy’s team, Thomas and the children were still there. Thomas was running toward the children to take them to a safe location. While the children present on the other side of the lake were stunned to see the fight going on…

Harvey: “What is that creature your dad is fighting with?”

Oliver: “That’s the monster I was telling you about. But my dad is here, and I know he will defeat the monster”

Riza looked at the children who were watching the fight. She thought it would be dangerous for the children to be there, so she ordered Fuery to take care of the children…

Riza: “Fuery, go to Oli and his friends and take them to a safe place” (She told him while putting the special bullets in the Reaper)

Fuery: “Roger that”

Fuery was running on one side of the lake to reach the kids while Thomas was trying to reach from the other side. Falman was hiding behind a tree in the proximity of Roy in order to help him and Riza was ready with the new devastating sniper gun, the Reaper.

The creature was burning like a piece of dry log and within a few seconds, it was turned to ashes. Roy couldn’t believe that the monster which caused so much mayhem at the base of IFF was dead. He relaxed and turned to look at his son and waved his hand. Watching that, even Fuery and Thomas stopped for a moment. But then suddenly the creature emerged from the ashes like a phoenix while Roy was facing his back to it. He realized the intensity of the situation when he saw everyone’s scared faces in front of him. He quickly turned around and saw the creature was standing there, without a single scratch on its body or any kind of wound. He leaped toward Roy, but before that a bullet hit its hind limb creating a big wound. It was the special bullet from the Reaper. Getting this opportunity, Roy again lit the creature with and at the same time, the bullet inside the creature’s hind limb exploded. But within a few seconds, the ashes again started accumulating and the creature emerged again from the ashes. Fuery and Thomas, who stopped for a moment, again ran toward the children to take them to a safe place…

Roy: “Let us see how many times it takes to kill you” (Looking at the creature)

Roy snapped and a streak of fire approached toward the creature, but this time the creature dodged it…

Roy: “WHAT?” (surprised tone)

The creature had suddenly got more agile and faster than earlier. Roy went on to rapid snapping mode, but somehow the creature was dodging each attack and at the same time proceeding toward Roy. He was close enough to land a claw attack on Roy, but before that, it was hit by a bullet on the back of its head which was shot by Falman who was hiding behind a tree. After firing a shot, he again hid behind the tree…

Falman: “Please don’t come after me. Please don’t come after me. Please don’t come after me” (He was afraid that the creature would go after him after that attack)

Soon after the bullet from Falman, a special bullet from the Reaper penetrated the creature’s torso. Roy quickly jumped sideways in order to avoid any impact from the explosion that was going to occur in the creature’s torso. And as expected, the explosion occurred splitting the creature into two parts. But this time, the creature healed itself within a second and leaped toward Roy. Roy saw the creature and quickly snapped. A streak of fire approached the creature while it was in midair, and at the same time, two bullets hit the creature one after another, making the creature fall back. This time the shots were fired by Riza with her regular sniper rifle. When the creature fell on the ground, it quickly stood up and started growling. Fuery and Thomas who were going toward the children stopped to see what the creature was doing like everyone else present there. Within a few seconds, 10-15 creatures protruded out of the creature’s body. Each creature was different looking than the other, but each of them was pitch black in color and loaded with lethal claws and canines. Some of them were four-legged, some were two-legged, some were looking like a giant snake while some of them were a smaller replica of the creature. Each creature then charged toward different people present there. Some were dashing toward Riza and Black Hayate, some were approaching Thomas and Fuery in a fast pace, some were moving toward Falman while some of them were rushing toward the children. The newly formed creatures were so desperate to reach their target that, they were not even bothered about a big lake in front of them. To reach the children, the creatures were swimming through the lake.

Roy was already occupied with the main creature, so he couldn’t attack any of the newly formed creatures. Meanwhile, 2 snake-like creature formed from the main creature were slowly moving toward Falman who was hiding behind a tree, trembling in fear. When he heard the snake slowly crawling toward him, he started running toward the town due to which the snake saw him and followed him. On the other side, 2 wolf-like looking creature were rushing toward Riza and Black Hayate, 2 giant reptile-like creatures were charging toward Fuery, 2 human-like creatures with claws were chasing Thomas and 2 smaller replicas of the main creature were swimming through the lake to reach the children. When the children saw the creatures coming toward them, they ran in the direction of Krid Novak’s home.

Riza stood up to aim at the creatures coming toward her with her normal sniper rifle. She shot at them, but the creatures were very agile and they dodged the bullets. She quickly reloaded her gun with one more bullet and shot them, still, the result was the same. The creatures were closing into her and she was getting tense more and more as they were approaching her, dodging her bullets. When the creatures were close enough, Riza dropped her rifle and quickly pulled out her 2 handguns and shot at one of them while Hayate attacked the other wolf. Riza had no time to help Hayate as she was occupied with one of her own problems, she was just hoping for Hayate to stay alive. Meanwhile, in order to beat the wolf she was fighting, Riza understood she was not going to win just by shooting at them, so she ran inside the broken house. As expected, the wolf followed her inside the house and when it entered through the door, Riza was waiting for it besides the entrance and shot it on the head in close range. Because the attack was sudden and at close range, the wolf was unable to dodge it and fell on the ground. Within a few seconds, the wolf turned to dust and disappeared. Riza then went outside the house to help Hayate who was fighting with all his might. Hayate was injured and was stumbling still, he was fighting for his master. The wolf, on the other hand, was unscathed. The wolf then leaped toward Hayate to give him a final blow, but Riza shot it on its head before it could reach Hayate and the wolf fell on the ground and turned to dust like the other wolf. Hayate then looked at his master and left a faint bark which was audible enough for Riza and then he fainted. Riza quickly ran toward her furry son when she saw him faint and attained to his wounds.

Meanwhile, the two reptiles who were charging toward Fuery were fast but not agile enough. Fuery was able to shoot them, but the bullets were not enough to kill them, the hides of the reptiles were so thick that the bullets were not penetrating properly inside them. When the guns proved to be useless, Fuery climbed a nearby tree which had a relatively thin trunk. The reptiles were trying to climb the tree when they reached there, but due to the thin trunk, they were unable to climb it. The reptiles then tried to jump using their hind legs like a spring but still, they couldn’t reach Fuery. Finally, the reptiles started shaking the tree vigorously. Even though Fuery was holding to a branch, he was still afraid that he might fall. Suddenly, a bullet hit on of the reptiles and it successfully penetrated its skin. The bullet was from the Reaper and Riza fired it to save Fuery from those creatures. Soon after that the reptile which was hit blew and because the other reptile was too close to the first reptile, it was also caught in the blast. Both the creatures then turned to dust and disappeared. Riza also saved Thomas who was being chased by 2 human-like creatures with claws. Compared to other creatures, the human creatures were not agile, fast or tough-skinned, so it was easy for Riza to kill them using her sniper rifle.

While Riza was saving Fuery and Thomas, the fight between the main creature and Roy was still going on. Roy by now had understood that the fluid content in the creature’s body was increasing for some reason due to which it was not burning like a dry log like before. Moreover, the agility and speed of the creature had also increased, so pinpointing the creature had become a problem for Roy. Because it was difficult to pinpoint, Roy went for area attacks and started created a stream of fire closer to the ground in order to target the creature’s limbs and incapacitate it. After few tries, Roy succeeded and burnt off all the limbs of the creature before it could reach him. By now Roy had also figured out that the creature was healing very fast, and its healing ability was getting stronger and stronger with time. So, without wasting a second, he rapidly kept on snapping to burn the creature and like the first time, it got reduced to ashes.

In the meantime, Riza called Fuery to take care of Hayate and she went to Roy who had just burnt the main creature. She informed him while running past him with her sniper rifle…

Riza: “I am going after the children”

Roy: “Fine, I will join you after I finish this”

Roy looked at the ashes which were accumulating and the creature was trying to revive from the ash…

Roy: “Such a persistent creature”

Roy removed his ignition gloves and put them in one of his trouser pockets and from the other pocket, he pulled out another set of gloves which had a little-modified form of flame alchemy transmutation circle on them. He wore those gloves and snapped. When he snapped, instead of yellow flames, he produced a streak of blue flames approaching the creature which was trying to rise from the ashes. The blue flames had a higher temperature than the yellow ones and it burnt the creature like a piece of dry log. But the creature was not ready to die, instead, it created 50 new creatures in order to surround Roy. Roy got tensed watching the pitch black monster of different shapes and sizes surrounding him. He gulped…

Roy: “I should start practicing speed snapping”

All the creatures then jumped toward Roy, and at the same moment Roy snapped with both his hands creating a huge circular fire wall around him which was being pushed toward the creatures. When the fire extinguished, the grasses over which the fire was lit were burnt off and the branches of the olive tree which were near the fire were scorched. The heat from the fire even scorched some of the nearby vegetation. Now there was no creature surrounding Roy, and he took a breath of relief. But when he thought he could relax for a moment, he saw the main creature was running toward the direction where the children had gone. Roy quickly tried to pinpoint damage it, but the creature was not stopping. So Roy had no option but to follow the creature.

On the other side, the giant snakes which protruded out of the creature were after Falman, and Falman was going toward the town. While running from the snake, he decided not to lead the snakes into the town and endanger people’s lives. So, he ran toward an isolated area, away from the town. Falman was slowing down after a long run, and the snakes were closing into him when he saw a jeep at a distance. After taking a few more steps, Falman was fully out of breath. He fell on the ground on his knees. He could see that his end was near, but he didn’t want to give up without a fight and turned around, pointing his gun at the snakes which were only a few meters away from him. There were only 3 bullets left in his gun, and when he fired those bullets one after another at the snakes unfortunately, all of them missed. He sighed out of disappointment remembering his family for one last time. He was watching the giant snakes crawling toward him like grim reapers and he couldn’t do anything about it. When he saw the snakes were only 2-3 meters away from him and were about to attack him, when suddenly a man jumped from the back and stood in front of him like a shield. The man was holding a sword in one of his hand, and within a few seconds he chopped off both the snakes head. When the man turned around and lent a hand to Falman, Falman recognized him instantly…

Falman: “Mr. Yang?”

Now there was a pair of a smaller version of the creatures which were chasing the children. The 2 creatures were only a few meters away from the children and Isa (the girl) was the one who was lagging behind. They were running with all their might, but they were tiring gradually. Their speed was decreasing and the creatures were closing into them. Suddenly, Isa hit a rock while running and fell to the ground. The other children turned around, but before they could even think of saving her, one of the creatures jumped at her. Isa got so afraid that she closed her eyes and she was so tired that she couldn’t scream. She was expecting an attack within a few seconds when she closed her eyes, but nothing happened. When she opened her eyes, she saw Krid Novak was standing in front of her and the 2 creatures had disappeared. Krid then turned around with a smile, and the reaction on Isa’s face was priceless. She couldn’t believe that she was alive. She started crying…

Isa: “Mr. Novak?” (Sobbing tone)

Krid bent down and hugged Isa to give her some assurance. But, the problem was not solved yet. In the meantime, Thomas reached there…

Thomas: “Mr. Novak, a monster is at the lake”

Krid stood up…

Krid: “I know”

Oliver: “See I told you, I was chased by a monster. You didn’t believe me”

Krid: “Sorry Oliver” (He replied with a smile)

Thomas: “Now what we do?”

Krid: “Go and arrange any mode of transportation, then pick Oliver from Reggie’s (one of the boys among the children present there) house and leave this town immediately. It doesn’t matter what it is, but it should be enough for 3 persons. You, I and Oliver are going to leave this place. And don’t ask me any question right now”

Thomas: “Right”

Thomas went toward the town which was very near compared to Krid’s house in order to find any mode of transportation. The other children were still there waiting for Krid to tell them what to do…

Krid: “Children, go to your Reggie’s home and close all those doors. Stay together and whatever happens, don’t come outside or open the doors except for Thomas”

Krid then turned around, he could feel the creature coming in his direction. And within a few seconds, he rushed in the direction of the creature. When he left, all the children ran toward Reggie’s house because it was the closest among all others, and that’s why Krid recommended that.

On the other side, the creature evaded Roy and now it was rushing in the direction where the children went. Riza was running a few meters ahead of the creature. She was aware that the creature was behind her and it was impossible for her to outrun it. She was also aware that Roy was not close enough to protect her, so she turned around, dropped the sniper rifle she was carrying and quickly pulled out her two handguns. The creature was approximately 20 meters away from her. Even though she knew bullets were not enough to stop it, she still tried and fired multiple shots. As soon as the bullets were hitting the creature, the wound was getting healed up before the second bullet could hit it. It was charging toward her without averting a step away from the path, and within a few seconds, it was right in front of her. Riza was panicked, she could see death right in front of her eyes in the form of pitch black claws and glowing eyes. But, the creature move passed her instead of attacking her, it was clearly interested in something else at that moment. Riza fell on her knees when the creature move past her, she couldn’t believe she was alive. But, she had no time to rest, she quickly stood up and followed the creature.

The creature was running very fast in the direction where the children went when suddenly its limbs got chopped off and it fell on the ground. When it saw in front, it could see Krid Novak standing with two scaly daggers emerging out of his wrist. The creature took almost no time to grow back its limbs. It was glaring at Krid, and quickly protruded out 5 beasts out of its body which was as pitch black as it was. All the beasts were looking like giant wolves except the main creature. Krid was ready to attack all the creatures, but unexpectedly all the creatures screamed at once. But, the scream was very unusual, it was one-directional and the sound waves moved in parallel lines instead of spreading out. And it was so intense that Krid could feel the ripples formed in the air because of that. Riza who was following the creature couldn’t listen to the scream because the sound waves were directed toward Krid. Krid faced the sound waves directly, but he was able to cover his ears with scales before the waves could hurt him. On the other side, the children who were in the direction of the wave were hit by it. Because the waves came from a distance, it was unable to kill them but it was enough to make them pass out right at the spot they were standing. The children had just moved approximately 100 meters from the place where they met Krid, and they fainted on the spot and fell to the ground.

The fight between Krid and the creature had started, this time the creature was more furious and resilient. It was even producing tentacles in order to attack Krid, but Krid was easily handling all the attacks and he was also able to kill whatever creature it was spawning out of itself. Riza who was following the creature was witnessing the fight while she was getting closer to the creature. For the first time, she was watching the infamous Krid Novak fighting, and his abilities to fight without any weapon were wide exposed. But, she had no time to waste her time there, so she sneaked past the 2 behemoths while they were busy fighting. When she ran to some more distance, she saw the children were unconsciously lying on the ground. As soon as she saw that, she rushed there and the first child she held in her arms was Oliver. She was not expecting to see her son in a position like that after knowing the truth that he was alive. She was very anxious and she was panting very heavily while she was holding her son. She quickly checked his heartbeat and breath. When she found out that he was only unconscious, she breathed a sigh of relief. She then checked the condition of the other children who were lying on the ground. By that time, Thomas reached there with a horse-driven carriage, he was surprised to find that the children were unconscious for some reason. He quickly got off the cart and came near Riza. Riza knew that he had lost his memory, so she didn’t react the way she should…

Thomas: “What happened?”

Riza: “I don’t know “

Thomas: “Oliver told me that a monster was after us from Central City, but I didn’t believe him then. Now it is here…wish I knew why it is after us”

Riza: “Can you help me take these children to a safe place?”

Thomas: “Let’s take them to the carriage. Reggie’s home is nearby, we can take the children there”

Riza: “Reggie?”

Thomas picked up Reggie from the ground, in his arms…

Thomas: “This handsome”

Thomas took Reggie and carefully put him in the carriage. Riza helped him to take all the children into the carriage. Then Thomas took the coachman’s seat in order to drive the carriage, and Riza got into the carriage to take care of the children. Thomas drove the carriage straight to Reggie’s home. Meanwhile, Roy was at the location where the fight between Krid and the creature was taking place. He could see that the creature had grown more powerful, it was creating creatures from within its body very rapidly in order to get past Krid, but Krid was strong enough to hold them off on his own. Krid was shooting scales from his body as well as fighting with the scale dagger emerging from his wrist. This was the first time Roy was watching Krid Novak fight, and he was certainly living up to the hype…

Roy: {So the myths about Krid Novak were true all along. Guess I should help him finish off this monster}

He snapped and a thick streak of blue flames approached the creatures and burnt off some of them. Krid got aware of Roy when he arrived there and he also knew that it was Roy who was helping him. He then spoke to Roy in between the fight and in a loud voice so that Roy could hear…

Krid: “TAKE CARE OF THIS CREATURE, I NEED TO ATTEND TO SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT”

Roy was surprised to know that Krid was going to leave him with the creature…

Roy: “WHAT! I CAN’T TAKE THIS MONSTER ON MY OWN”

Krid left after that, without paying attention to what Roy said. And Roy couldn’t get out of that place as the creatures were attacking Roy now.

Roy: “Damn it! I tried to help him, and this what I get in return” (Angry tone)

On the other side, Riza and Thomas left the children at Reggie’s house where there was Reggie’s mother to take care of the children. But, Riza kept Oliver with her in order to take him back to Central City. She was sitting inside the carriage while Thomas was driving it to the place where Roy and his team had parked their cars through an alternative route. She was happy that finally, her son was sleeping on her lap. She was looking at his peaceful face with all the affection she had and she was gently patting his head with love. Suddenly, Thomas stopped the carriage. Riza gently put Oliver on the seat and came out with her guns to see why the carriage stopped. When she looked in front of the carriage, she saw 1 wolf-like creature which was clearly formed from the main creature was standing in front of the carriage. It was baring its teeth and was about to attack them anytime now. Riza spoke to Thomas who was sitting at the coachman’s seat very quietly…

Riza: “Get to the place I told you about. I will meet you there” (While looking at the wolf)

Riza then moved away from the carriage and shot the wolf. As expected the wolf was agile enough to dodge Riza’s bullet and it charged toward her. On the other side, Roy was busy in a fight with the creatures and it was getting difficult and difficult to keep on fighting anymore. And the time came when he got surrounded by many creatures who were about to attack him, but suddenly he saw a dagger hit the ground near his feet, then walls protruded out of the ground and saved him from the attacks. When he looked around, he saw the Xingese were there for his rescue. In a few moments, all of them cleared off the creatures present there, but even after killing off all the creatures, Roy was in disbelief. Ling looked at Roy’s concerned face and asked him out of curiosity…

Ling: “Why are you upset? If you haven’t noticed, all the monsters have been killed”

Roy: “That’s the thing bugging me. I don’t think we killed all of them”

Ling: “What do you mean all of them?”

Roy: “I disintegrated the original creature multiple times, but it revived itself all the time. These creatures came out of its body, and probably the original one evaded. I don’t think it can die so easily”

Riza on the other side finished off the wolf. It took quite an effort to kill the creature, but she managed to pull that off, even though she sustained some bruises and scratches. After that, she rushed to the place where the cars were parked and looked for Thomas and Oliver everywhere, but there was no one there except the vacant cars. The exhausting and chaotic fight with the infamous monster who attacked the IFF was over, and with that, the sun was set like the hope of Riza meeting her son. At least she was able to give her motherly warmth to Oliver, even though it was for a small period. At least she was now certain that her son was alive and well, and that truth was enough to fuel her hopes to meet her son. The sadness she had, was just momentary just like the night.


	20. Expressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, we see the aftermath of the fight with the creature. Later, we see some interaction between Yang and his wife Artemis as well as Roy and Riza. On the other side, Krid Novak reveals his past to Oliver and Thomas Maxwell.

**[Cameron]**

The unexpected fight between the monster and Roy’s team was over, and a lot of things were unveiled. Roy and his team found out that Thomas Maxwell (Leader of IFF) had lost his memories, the monster which attacked the IFF base at Central City was after Thomas and Oliver for some reason, and it was un-killable too. Moreover, Krid Novak was not a human and he knew Thomas, Oliver and the other kids. Besides that, the Xingese were there. Roy and the Xingese were relaxing at the place where the fight between the creature and Krid Novak took place. The two Amestrian soldiers, Artemis and Victoria also introduced themselves to Roy. Fuery had put some bandages on Hayate’s wound which he got from the wolf attack, and kept him beside Roy. Hayate was lying beside Roy who was sitting with Yang and Falman under the shade of a tree. Meanwhile, Ling, Lan Fan, and Yin were investigating the area. …

Roy: “I was not expecting to find you guys here”

Yang: “Neither were we”

Roy: “We came here to capture someone, but it seems he fled. What about you? Why did you suddenly disappear from Central City and show up here?”

Yang: “We came here to meet someone”

Roy: “You could have at least informed anyone in the military”

Yang: “The prince didn’t want to be followed”

Roy: “Who is that someone anyways?”

Yang: “Krid Novak”

Roy: “WHAT!”

Roy’s reaction even caught the attention of other Xingese present there…

Ling: “See…just the mention of his name is enough to make you panic. That’s why we didn’t tell the military”

Roy: “That guy is not an huma…”

Ling interrupted before he could complete his sentence…

Ling: “Human…We know that. He is abnormally fast, agile and strong….he can produce scales from his body and use them as weapon or armor. We know all of that”

Roy was surprised to know that the Xingese knew so much about Krid, and he got to know about Krid only that day even after being a General…

Roy: “How can you possibly know that?” (Surprised tone)

Yin: “That person killed my father”

Roy: “So you came here to take your revenge?”

Yin: “Yes, and you cannot stop us”

Roy: “Well…he was just here, fighting with the monster with me before you guys came here”

Yang: “Where did he go then?” (Anxious tone)

Roy: “I don’t know. I was quite busy saving my own ass”

Ling: “The monster…What was it?”

Roy took a deep breath and exhaled before replying to Ling…

Roy: “We don’t know…It was the first time, I saw something like that. Initially, we had some report of some monster attack in an abandoned warehouse, but that sounded quite fake. Now that I saw it, I cannot deny its existence”

In the meantime, Havoc and Breda reached there. Havoc had put Breda’s arm on his shoulders in order to help him walk. When Roy and Fuery saw them, they quickly ran to help them. The bullet wound on Breda’s shoulder had stained his clothes and he was looking very weak. So, Roy helped Havoc to walk Breda under the tree’s shade without asking any question. They were lucky that there were 2 alkahestry practitioners among them. When Yang saw Breda’s wound, he offered help as expected…

Yang: “Let me help you”

Roy and Fuery moved aside so that Yang could heal Breda. Yang used alkahestry with his kunai knives to pull out the bullet then he stopped the bleeding using normal alkahestry which Roy had earlier seen Mei using to save Riza at Central Command. Even after being healed, Breda was still feeling weak which was the result of blood loss. So, Breda relaxed under the tree’s shade without talking to anyone…

Roy: “What happened?” (Curiously looking toward Havoc)

In the meantime, Havoc had pulled out a cigarette and was smoking…

Havoc: “I went to Krid Novak’s home and unfortunately I encountered him. He…he…is not huma...”

Roy finished up Havoc’s sentence…

Roy: “Human…I know”

Havoc: “You know?” (Surprised tone)

Roy: “We also found out that he was in contact with Oliver from past few days. So, I sent Breda to his house”

Havoc: “Good thing he came, otherwise I would have been dead. But then he suddenly left for some reason”

He took a sip from his cigarette and let the smoke out…

Roy: “Maybe he sensed the monster”

Havoc: “A monster?” (Surprised tone)

Roy: “You should rest first. I will tell you everything later”

Havoc adhered to his advice and rested under that tree, beside Breda…

Havoc: “Don’t you know anyone from this town who can provide us some shelter?” (Asking Roy)

Roy: “I am just waiting for that someone”

In the meantime, Roy saw Riza coming. She was holding her sniper rifle and was looking very beat up…

Roy: “And that someone is here”

Havoc didn’t know that Cameron was Riza’s hometown, so he was surprised for a moment…

Havoc: “What! Hawkeye will give us shelter?”

Roy: “Yes, it is her hometown after all”

When Riza was closing in, Roy noticed the defeat on her face. She was slowly walking toward him with her head down. He understood that something was not right, so he rushed toward her to find out the reason. When he was close enough, she stopped and looked at him. She handed over her rifle to Roy which seemed very unusual to everyone who knew her. Then she walked past Roy. While walking…

Riza: “The hunt is not over”

Roy understood that she lost Oliver. Riza then walked toward her team, she noticed the Xingese, but she was not concerned about them at that moment. When she reached near her team, she saw Hayate was lying under the tree, he started barking in a weak tone when he saw Riza, but he was too weak to walk at that moment. So, she walked closer to him and tousled him. Hayate also responded by licking the back of Riza’s hand…

Fuery: “Mr. Yang helped in healing Hayate. Now he is out of danger”

Fuery replied to Riza’s question before she could ask it…

Riza looked toward Yang who was now attending to the wounds of Havoc…

Riza: “Thank you for healing Hayate, Mr. Yang”

Yang: “hmm” (He nodded)

Riza: “Let us go to my house, it is nearby. Everyone can rest there”

Everyone from her team stood up and helping the wounded to stand up. Riza noticed the military jeep parked there, then she looked the two lady soldiers standing there. Artemis and Victoria quickly came close to Riza and saluted her, and then they introduced themselves to her before she could ask…

Artemis: “Second Lieutenant Artemis Lancer from training camp 1”

Victoria: “Warrant Officer Victoria O’Leary from training camp 1”

Artemis: “It is an honor to meet you, Ma’am. You have been a great inspiration for all the women in training camp 1”

Roy was surprised of the way both the women were greeting her. They were looking quite excited to meet her…

Roy: {They never greeted me in that way. I didn’t know she is a celebrity in the training camp}

Riza: “Good to know that. Now, I need your help to take the wounded to my house in your jeep? It would have been better to take all the wounded to my house at once, but you need me to show you the way”

Artemis: “Well, I know the way to your house Ma’am”

Riza gave a surprised look to Artemis when she heard that…

Artemis: “No need to get surprised Ma’am, actually I am also from this town”

Riza: “You are? But, I don’t think I ever saw you”

Artemis: “My family and I were living a little outside the town, and when I heard that a girl from Cameron was a war hero of Ishval…It inspired me to join the military, but it took some time to join the military due to some personal reasons”

Riza: “Fine then, if you know the way to my house then take all the wounded there”

She gave the key to her house to Artemis…

Artemis: “Yes Ma’am”

All the wounded which included Breda and Havoc along with Hayate, carried by Fuery, got into the jeep. Falman was also permitted to go because of the unstable condition after the near-death experience. Artemis was the one who was driving the jeep. While the wounded were getting into the jeep…

Roy: “You should also go. You are looking terrible” (Looking at Riza)

Riza: “I will go on the next trip with you”

In the meantime, Artemis started the jeep and drove toward Riza’s home. After she was gone, Yang noticed something…

Yang: “Where is Yin?”

After that query, everyone else then noticed that Yin was not there…

Roy: “I thought she was here”

Ling: “Lan Fan and I were looking at these scales”

Ling showed the scales which he found from the area where Krid Novak and the creature fought. The scales were green in color, but they were very dull and the most important thing was that they were disintegrating at a very low rate which everyone was unaware at that moment. When Roy saw the scales, he quickly remembered where those scales came from…

Roy: “Those scales…I think those scales belong to Krid Novak. I saw him projecting scales from his body when he was fighting with the monster”

Suddenly Yang figured out where his sister might have gone…

Yang: “I think…Yin must have gone to Krid Novak’s house. She knows the way”

Roy: “Then we should hurry”

Riza then looked at Victoria…

Riza: “Officer Victoria”

Victoria: “Yes Ma’am”

Riza: “Stay here, and when Lieutenant Lancer (Artemis) returns, take the Xingese guests with you. General Mustang and I will come later after attending to some important business”

Victoria: “Alright”

When Riza turned around, she saw the Xingese had already left, but Roy was still standing there, holding her rifle which she handed over to him. He was looking at Riza with a questioning look on his face…

Roy: “You are not coming with me. You need to take some rest”

Riza took the rifle from Roy’s hand…

Riza: “I am not letting you go alone”

Roy: “Have you seen yourself?” (Concerned tone)

Riza: “Thank you for your concern, Sir. But I am alright”

She moved past Roy to Krid Novak’s house…

Roy: {Why do I even bother to ask her?}

Both of them then rushed toward Krid Novak’s house.

On the other side, Yin was standing in front of Krid’s house. She couldn’t sense any life force in the proximity, so she tried to open the door. When she turned the knob to open the door, she found out that the door was already unlocked. After that, she quietly entered inside the house, closing the door behind and found there was no light inside. Because all the windows were closed, there was no entrance for natural light to enter. Moreover, the sun was set and the moon was not shining so bright in the sky due to the clouds. She had no means like a lantern or torch to see inside the house, so she went outside the house to search for something. When she opened the door, she found someone standing just in front of her because of which she was startled and pulled out a kunai knife quickly. She calmed down and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was her brother. After taking a small pause, she scolded Yang…

Yin: “WAS IT NECESSARY TO HIDE YOUR CHI?” (Angry tone)

Yang: “You are a Zhansi, you should know its pretty normal for us to hide our chi”

Yin then noticed Ling and Lan Fan were standing behind Yang…

Yin: “You must have figured out by now that he is not here”

Yang: “Yes. If he had been here, then we would have already met him”

Ling: “What should we do now?”

Yin: “I was about to search his house, but you see, it’s difficult to see in the dark”

Yang: “Why do you need to search his house?”

Yin: “Curiosity. I just want to know more about him. Do you have any problem with that?”

Yang knew that he couldn’t stop his sister from searching the house of their father’s killer. So he turned around and started to move back to the place where his wife was going to return…

Yang: “Do whatever you want to do” (While leaving)

In those few days, the image of Yang inside Yin’s mind had changed. She thought her brother was tough, strong and would definitely avenge their father. But, she was surprised to find that he had grown soft, married to an Amestrian woman and most of all, he had given up avenging their father. The image of Yang before his sister’s eyes was now of a liar and a weakling. Yin watched her brother leave that place, and she didn’t even think of stopping him. Yin then broke off a branch from the nearby tree and was putting a piece of cloth to make a torch out of it. Watching that Ling asked her…

Ling: “Don’t you think, a torch will be dangerous in such a cozy place?”

Yin: “Don’t worry young lord, I will keep the flames low. A lantern would have been a great help, but we don’t have a choice at the moment”

A few seconds later, she was finished up the torch and later she put some brown colored fluid on top of the torch, which she was carrying in the small purse hanging on her waist…

Yin: “Now we need some fire”

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice…

Roy: “Allow me”

Yin looked at Roy…

Yin: “Great timing. We needed some fire, and we have the flame alchemist here. Now can you please light up the torch”

Roy: “First of all, you should not barge into someone’s house, especially if you are in a different nation. You should leave these matters to the military” (Serious tone)

Riza walked toward Yin and tried to take the torch from Yin’s hand, but Yin was holding onto the torch. She was glaring at Roy…

Roy: “Please stay away from this, otherwise I will have to take action against you”

When Ling saw the serious look on Roy’s face, he quietly asked Yin to let go of the torch….

Ling: “Let’s go” (Persuading tone)

Yin was way out of her jurisdiction there, she was just the bodyguard of the national guest. So, she gave the torch to Riza and left the place with Ling and Lan Fan. After the Xingese were gone, Roy snapped and lit up the torch. The torch started burning, but the flames around the cloth piece wrapped on the stick were small compared to a regular torch. The torch was emitting light just like a lantern with a stable flame.

Roy and Riza then went inside the house, with Riza holding the torch in her hand. When they entered inside, the first thing they saw was the dining room which was quite empty, compared to a typical dining room. It had a small dining table and two chairs, there were some gardenia flowers in a small vase with water in it, on the table. The kitchen which was next to the dining room was very clean and the utensils and food were in proper places. Everything was looking pretty normal, considering that Krid was blind. Finally, they moved into the bedroom where they saw a bed with no mattress or pillow on it. There was a small furniture beside the bed, on which some books were kept, and then there was a small cupboard. Out of curiosity, Roy picked up one of the books on the furniture. The book’s name was “War & Serenity”. When he opened the book, he saw it was not written with ink. All the pages of the book were written in Braille script…

Roy: “Right, I forgot he is a blind man”

He put the book back on the furniture and went toward the cupboard. He opened the door of the cupboard and saw some clothes and some money. There was also a drawer in that cupboard. When Roy opened that drawer, he saw some folded papers, tied together….

Riza: “Looks like some letters”

Roy untied the bundle, and picked up one folded piece of paper from it and unfolded it. It was again a letter written in Braille script. Looking at that, Roy sighed…

Roy: “As expected, braille script. By any chance, do you know braille script?” (Looking at Riza)

Riza: “No”

Roy: “Then we have to take all these letters with us then”

Roy tied all the letters in a bundle and put them in his coat pocket. After that, they searched for some more clue, but they couldn’t find anything significant. Soon after that, they went to Reggie’s house where Riza and Thomas had left the children. Unfortunately, the children were still unconscious. Riza explained everything to Roy when she went after the children and how she lost Oliver. As they couldn’t question the unconscious children, they went to Riza’s home where everyone was taking shelter.

 

 

**[Few miles away from Cameron]**

Few hours had passed since Thomas had left Cameron with the horse driven carriage. Oliver was still unconscious inside the carriage, and Krid was sitting beside Thomas on the driver’s seat. Thomas was driving the carriage while Krid was silent and was on guard…

Thomas: “So…are you sensing any more of them?”

Krid: “No, I think it has stopped chasing us”

Thomas: “Shall we stop somewhere then? The horses are very tired”

Krid: “On the left, there is a water channel at some distance, stop the carriage there”

Thomas: “Do you mean to get off the road?”

Krid: “If that is what we need to do, then please do so”

Thomas got off the road and drove the horses in a grassy field with few trees. After going 200 meters or so, they reached a water channel which was a small branch of some river. They stopped there and went to see Oliver who was in the carriage. When Krid opened the door, he felt Oliver’s calm breath while he was sleeping…

Thomas: “I thought he was finally going to meet his father”

Krid didn’t reply to that, and after a small pause he spoke…

Krid: “Let him sleep here in comfort, and help me detach the horses from the carriage. We have a long journey ahead”

Thomas couldn’t understand him at that time, he thought maybe he was talking about going to any military headquarter to leave Oliver there.

Krid closed the door and began detaching the horses from the carriage and tied them to a tree so that they could take some rest. The field was full of healthy green grass, so the horses had enough food to feed on, and because there was water channel there, everyone could quench their thirst. After tying the horses, they made a campfire and sat before it…

Thomas: “Guess we have to sleep empty stomach then”

Krid: “Unfortunately” (He smiled)

Thomas: “Is there any military base nearby?”

Krid: “Why would you ask?”

Thomas: “Well, you are going to take Oliver to some military base right?”

Krid: “No, and by the way, I don’t even know where we are. I am good at sensing, but I am still a blind person you know”

Thomas: “So where are we going then?”

Krid: “To a friend who can help us…She lives in a small town named **Trivida.** It is situated at the border of South Area, Creta (Country to the west of Amestris) and Aerugo (Country to the South of Amestris). This place is famous for the intersection of three separate rivers, and they form one single river from there which flows to Creta via Aerugo. That’s why the place is also known as the trident of life. The surrounding is full of greenery, so the place has been set as a serenity among the three countries. No war has ever taken place in that region even though it is at the border”

Thomas: “Seems like a good place, but may I know why are we going there instead of taking the child to his home?”

There was silence, and the sound of cracking wood in the fire was the only sound audible. After a few moments, Krid took a deep breath and exhaled before replying…

Krid: “Thomas…you don’t know about yourself and neither do I. I have only created a perception of yours after talking to you in these few days, but the one thing that we both are certain about, is your lineage. You are an Ishvalan, and because of that, I want to tell you the truth behind the war where lots of your people died…Amestris had always been in war, either with some other country or with its own people. But, there was more than what everyone saw on the surface. Everyone saw the rulers come and go, always indulging the country in conflict, but no one knew about the person who was pulling the strings. He was called by different names like the philosopher of the east, Asura, but we used to call him ‘FATHER’. Because he was the one who created us….More than 300 years ago, when Amestris fought its first war against the city-state of Riviere, we were there to fight his war in order to expand his empire. He never wanted to be a king or emperor, because his desire was of a far superior stature that is to become ‘God’. He called us his **Four Pillars** …I was named **Hyperion** , pillar of the East. Pillar of the West was named **Iapetus…** Pillar of the North was called **Coeus,** and the Pillar of the South was named **Crius**. We were always there for him so that his empire can stand strong”

Thomas: “Wait, wait…are you saying you more than 300 years old?” (Surprised tone)

Krid: “It is hard to believe, but that is the truth…you saw what I am capable to do today, right?”

Thomas had seen him fighting the creature while they were being chased by it, and the things he was capable of doing was not human…

Thomas: “Maybe you are telling the truth, it’s just that my rationality is telling me not to believe you. But, as far as I have known you from these few days, I don’t think you are a man who will lie… (He sighed) Tell me more”

Krid: “I have fought in a lot of wars, starting from the first war at Riviere to the red lake war of Cameron to the most recent war of Ishval. I was the most violent one among the four of us that is because I felt alive only during a fight. I have killed so many people with these hands (Looking at his hands), that I have lost count of it. But, there was one fight where I was afraid, that I would lose. And that battle was with the creature with which we fought today”

Thomas: “WHAT? You know about the monster?” (Surprised tone)

In the meantime, Krid had noticed something…

Krid: “Hey Oliver”

Thomas looked beside him and saw Oliver a few feet away. He was awake, and when he learned that Krid had fought the monster in the past, his eyes were widened out of surprise. When he was greeted by Krid, he walked toward them and sat beside Thomas, facing Krid…

Oliver: “Was the monster again after me?” (Looking at Krid)

Krid: “Yes”

Oliver: “I thought my dad can beat the monster, but I think the monster is very strong…Mr. Novak, what happened when you fought it in the past?”

Krid: “The first time I fought it was a year after the war of Riviere along with the other four pillars. Initially, we beat it pretty easily, but it used to return every time after an interval, and every time it came, it was stronger than the previous time. It was during a battle at the Old Ishval that the fight came to conclusion when Father found a way to calm it down. By that time, the creature was at 70% and we struggled to stay alive during that fight. The whole city was decimated during the fight, but we managed to contain it”

 Oliver: “70%? Do you mean its strength?”

Krid: “Yes, the monster was barely at 30% when we fought it today”

Thomas gulped listening to that…

Thomas: “It was so destructive only at 30%?” (Stressed tone)

Oliver: “Mr. Novak, do you know why the monster is after me?”

Krid: “That is why we are going to Trivida, to get the answers. But I am certain about one thing…that creature will kill anyone or anything between it and you”

Oliver: “Is that why you took me with you?”

Krid: “Yes, if you stay with anyone you love, then you are doing nothing more than putting their lives in danger. It is better for you to stay with me till we resolve this problem…so, will you do it, Oliver?”

Oliver was thinking while looking at the woods burning in the fire. Then he looked at Krid with a forceful smile. The child was trying hard to act like an adult, he desperately wanted to meet his father again and all the people he loved, but he was pushed to take an adult decision at that moment. He had no other option and he replied to Krid what he was supposed to, with that forceful smile on his face…

Oliver: “I will go with you to find the answers”

When he finished up his sentence, his stomach growled loudly…

Oliver: “Sorry” (Embarrassed tone)

Krid smiled when he heard that noise…

Krid: “Let me arrange something to eat” (He said with a smile)

Thomas: “I thought we were going to sleep in empty stomach”

Krid: “There are some fishes in the water channel. I think that will be sufficient for us. So Oliver, do you like roasted fish?”

Oliver: “I can try” (he replied with a smile)

Krid: “Alright then, let me catch some fish”

Krid stood and removed his shoes and clothes, and he jumped into the water in that night, to have something to eat.

 

**[Cameron]**

Everyone was resting in Riza’s house except Roy and Riza who were still outside. Because Riza never came to her house after Oliver started living with Ana (Matilda Becker’s daughter, introduced in chapter 8 – Father and Son), the house was unmaintained for long. Even after that, Roy’s team, the Xingese, and the two Amestrian lady soldiers worked together to clean it to make it suitable to stay for that night. The lamps and electric bulbs were not working, so they had to use candles in the house. There was a telephone in the hall, but it was also not functioning. Roy’s team and Victoria were in the hall in the ground floor, and because Ling was royalty, he was asked to stay in Berthold Hawkeye’s room which was in the upper floor with Yang as his guard. But, Ling couldn’t stay much longer in boredom, so he joined Roy’s team who were having fun in the hall. Because Ling was in the hall, Lan Fan was also there. Yin, on the other hand, was having some alone time outside the house, enjoying the night which was a bit clouded, covering the moon at times to block its light to reach earth. Yang was in Berthold Hawkeye’s room, waiting for ling to come. He was meditating to use the time he had.

While no one was present on the upper floor except Yang, Artemis took the opportunity to finally spend some private time with her husband. She entered inside the room where Yang was meditating and locked the door from inside. Yang was sitting on the floor, crossing his legs in order to form a meditation posture while facing the door. When he heard the door open and shut, he opened his eyes to check who it was. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw his wife standing in front of him, removing her uniform. While she was removing her clothes, Yang was speechlessly watching her wife. When she was done removing her uniform and was only in her underwears, she looked in front of her and found her husband was staring at her with widened eyes. She stood in a seductive posture in her underwear and asked a sexually provoking question in the most seductive tone possible at that moment…

Artemis: “Hey…Mr. Gong, it’s cold out here. Can you lend me some of your heat?” (Seductive tone)

She then bent forward in order to give a better view of her cleavage to her husband. Yang gulped watching the activities of her wife, and his cheeks started turning red…

Yang: “What are you doing?” (Hesitating tone)

Artemis slowly started walking toward Yang in a seductive way…

Artemis: “What do you think I am doing…My dear husband?”  (Seductive tone)

When she was close enough, she sat on her knees and cupped Yang’s face. Then she leaned in and kissed him. For a few seconds, Yang also got into the moment, but he quickly separated from her…

Yang: “I think you should stop now”

She stood up and sat on her husband’s lap, crossing her legs around her husband’s waist. She put her arms around her husband’s neck and looked into his eyes. Yang’s heart was pounding at such a rate that Artemis could hear his fast heartbeat. Artemis then looked at her breasts which were just below Yang’s chin, while Yang was trying hard to not look at them…

Artemis: “Don’t you think they have grown bigger?”

She held the trembling left hand of Yang with her right hand and put it on her breast in order to make her husband do what she wanted…

Artemis: “What do you think? Haven’t they grown bigger?” (Seductive tone)

Yang quickly removed his hands. He was breathing heavily and started sweating. It was easy for him to fight with another person with his life online, but the sexual encounter with his wife was just horrible…

Artemis: “God, you are acting even more terrible than our first night…I am your wife for god sake, stop acting like it is the first time. Is it because there are people downstairs?”

Yang: “Y…You aa…are…acting…way too str…strange”

Artemis: “We are meeting after a long while, so I thought of making this moment special. God knows when you will return next time”

She then kissed her husband like it was the last time she was kissing him, and when she separated her lips after a while, Yang was red as a tomato. He quickly moved back to make some distance from his wife, making her fall on the floor in the process. He was standing while his wife was lying on the floor when he separated from her. He thought Artemis was hurt, so he showed his concern…

Yang: “Are you alright” (Concerned tone)

Artemis: “NO” (While glaring at Yang)

Artemis stood up and looked at her husband, and suddenly she started crying, putting her palms on her face…

Artemis: “Am I not good enough for you anymore?” (Sobbing tone)

Yang was unknown from the fact that it was just a trap, and he fell into it. He walked closer to his wife and held her hands to move them away from her face so that he could look at her face and talk with her. But when he moved her hand and looked at her face, he saw an evil smile stuck on her face. And in the next moment, Artemis held her husband and pushed him on the floor and sat on his chest. Then she closed into Yang’s face…

Artemis: “You are all mine today…dear” (She said with an evil smile)

But, Yang was the fourth Zhansi after all. He managed to move his wife from his chest and stood at some distance from his wife. Because of that Artemis got angry…

Artemis: “COME…OVER…HERE”

When Yang didn’t come, she charged toward Yang, and Yang ran around the room keeping some distance from his wife. Because the door was locked from inside, and her wife was after him, he had no time to open the door and run away. Moreover, Artemis was a military officer, she was not going to tire soon. She kept on shouting at her husband, letting all her anger flow at that moment. She was so loud at expressing herself that, the people on the ground floor could hear her and they were laughing at the circus going on in that closed room…

Havoc: “Looks like your bodyguard is having a marital issue over there” (Mocking Ling)

On the other side, Roy and Riza were returning home after visiting Reggie’s (One of Oliver’s friend in Cameron) house. They were coming through the lake where Oliver, the famous olive tree was present. They were expected to gather some evidence about the creature there because Roy fought it there. By that time, the clouds had almost cleared out and the moon was spreading its shine on the lake. And to make the surrounding more beautiful, a light breeze was flowing, making the trees groove slowly and making nature’s music through their leaves.

Riza was walking beside Roy, holding her rifle. Suddenly, Riza’s hairclip fell on the ground. So, Roy stopped and bent down to pick up the clip. When he picked it up, he saw the clip was broken…

Roy: “This is broken, you will have to buy a new one”

After that when he stood and looked at her face while handling over the clip, he was dazzled by the sight. She was standing just beside the lake, and moon’s light was directly falling over her like it was falling over the lake. Her reflection was clearly visible in the lake with the very little wave just like the reflection of the moon. Her golden hairs were free and the light breeze was brushing them gently. Her amber eyes were appearing like two beautiful gemstones, and the scratches on her face from the fight with the creature were contrasting her fearlessness. Roy dropped the broken clip and slowly moved close to Riza. He moved one arm around Riza’s waist and cupped her face with the other hand. He then kissed her with all the love he had contained in all those years, before she could say anything.


	21. Identity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back story of Krish, the person whom Boris is searching.

_“I kept on waiting and kept on waiting at the same place you left me. I kept on living and kept on living for the promise you made me. Time is passing and weakening my bones, the only strength I am left with is a ray of hope…Please do come so that I can hear your voice one last time. Please do come for the promise you made, before it is too late”_

This was Viola’s (Introduced in chapter 6 – Choices) prayer every evening to meet her only family who promised her to return, but they never did. And the blind woman kept waiting on her own for almost 3 decades, in the hope that they will return.

 

**[Year 1883, Junior Military Academy - Othon]**

Boris Bolotov (Later known by Artem – mentioned in chapter 6 – Choices) was a young soldier in Drachmann military, he was working as a staff in the Junior Military Academy (JMA). His job was to look after the newly joined children and also to find the children who were interested in a higher level program in JMA. Initially, he was told that the children who opt for that program are transferred to some different location to lead a better life. He even found some of the children who opted for the program in better part of the country, so he never had any questions about what the program was or what was its name. Only a few selected people knew the details of the program which was called **Lab C**.

Lab C was not a physical location, instead, it was a group of people who traveled to different parts of the country for the work they were entrusted with. The staff who were responsible for selecting children for Lab C were given specific instructions which mainly focused on finding the desire of that child. After that, some physical tests were done on the child to find out whether the child is good for the program or not. If a child failed in any of the selection processes, they were raised to be a simple soldier.

Boris kept on working in JMA without even knowing the name of the higher level program where he was sending the children, just like every other staff working along with him. Unfortunately, one day he found out the truth about Lab C when accidentally he got into a restricted area and saw one alchemist performing human transmutation on a child and some animals. After that, his perception of the JMA changed forever, but he was afraid to speak about it to anyone. He couldn’t even leave the children there and resign from the job, because his morals didn’t allow him to do so. He continued to work there and gradually made some trustworthy friends who used to fail the children or help them to run away from JMA, without getting noticed by the higher-ups. They couldn’t fail all the children because that could spawn suspicion in the minds of the higher-ups, so there were always some children whom they couldn’t save.

After 1 year, somehow Boris’ activities were spotted by some workers of Lab C, but before they could catch him, Boris fled the academy with one 12-year-old boy. Eventually, some of Boris’ friends were ratted out and were either sentenced to lifetime imprisonment or executed for treason. Boris travelled from places to places with the boy with fake identity in order to hide from the military. After a few months, the Drachmann military fed up and stopped searching for him. So, Boris thought of settling somewhere and plan to stop the Lab C program of the government forever. He decided to stay near a village called **Selonova** which was approximately 30 miles from Othon. By this way, he could work with the few friends of his who were not caught by the military.

He was staying in a house which was situated outside the village, which belonged to a hunter previously. He was staying by the name **Artem** and the boy’s name was **Krish**. They regularly visited the village and stayed there for ample time. They made many friends there, and among all of them, their closest friend was a **Viola.** Viola was a young woman in her late twenties, she was a beautiful woman, but unfortunately, she was blind. She was living with her father who never considered her as a burden and did whatever he could to make her daughter smile. But, after few days of Boris’ arrival at the village, Viola’s father died due to some illness. After that she was alone, and because of that, some mischievous men tried to take advantage of her, by their act of sympathy. Fortunately for her, Boris saved her from a man who once led her deep into his trap. After that Boris started visiting her regularly and stayed almost the whole day with her along with Krish. Time passed on and those three who were from different parts of the country started living like a family. But then after 2 years, the day came which destroyed their happy family.

That day Boris and Krish went to the seashore which was 3 miles away from the village. There was a small pond created by the tidal waves where generally all the fishermen of the village used to fish. The pond was like a natural treasure for that village. Boris and Krish were sitting on a rock with their fishing rods, trying to catch some fish from the pond…

Krish: “Boris…” (Looking toward Boris)

Boris: “Hmm?”

He replied while looking at the pond, trying to see if any fish got the bait or not…

Krish: “We have been in this village for a long time. Are we going to stay here forever?”

Boris: “Why? Don’t you like this place?”

Krish: “No, I love this place. It’s just that I want to see other places as well”

Boris: “I cannot leave this place yet. But, when you are old enough, you can go anywhere you want”

He looked toward Krish who was looking toward him, and smiled after completing his sentence…

Krish: “Is it because of Viola?”

Boris: “Well, she is one of the reasons”

Krish: “We can take her with us, you know? You should have figured out by now that she likes you”

Boris held Krish’s head and smiled…

Boris: “Kid…you are going way too far”

Right at that moment, the wires in both fishing rod were tightened. Because of that, both of them quickly focused on their fishing rods and started winding up the wires to pull their catch. When they completely pulled the wires out of the water, they saw two 5-6 inches long fishes were caught on their hook. After getting the fishes, they went for another round, and after almost an hour they caught 5 fishes. They headed toward the village with their catch after that.

The village was 3 miles away, so it was bound to take some time as they were on foot. When they reached the village, they went to the person who was the third family member, Viola. They knocked on the door, holding their catch on one hand, and after a moment, Viola opened the door. She opened the door knowing that it was Boris and Krish, and as soon as the door was opened, Krish started bragging about how he caught more fish than Boris…

Krish: “Viola, I beat him. This time I caught one extra fish than him” (Excited tone)

Viola: “I knew you will beat him eventually” (She replied with a smile)

Both of then entered inside the house which was dark because electricity was not common at that time and moreover, Viola didn’t need any source to look in the darkness. Boris and Krish brightened the place by lighting up the candles and lanterns. Viola closed the door and followed them into the kitchen. Viola was very comfortable inside the house rather than the outside world because she knew where everything was. She liked to go outside of her house, but mostly with Boris or Krish.

Whenever Boris and Krish came with some food to prepare, she didn’t allow them to use her kitchen without her presence just because she liked everything in their position. And just like every day, Boris and Krish knew that they need to ask Viola for the knife so that they could cut the fishes…

Boris: “Viola, can…”

Viola: “Here”

Boris turned and saw Viola was handing over the knife before he could complete his sentence. He took the knife from Viola’s hand and started cleaning up the fishes. Viola then walked toward the dining room where Krish was relaxing. Viola’s action seemed out of place to Boris, and she was doing that from past few days, so he asked while she was leaving…

Boris: “Have you started trusting me with your kitchen?”

Viola smiled facing her back to him and replied…

Viola: “You can say so, but please put the things in the proper places after you use”

Boris smirked and replied…

Boris: “Of course, I will”

Viola then left the kitchen, into the dining room where Krish was sitting on a chair beside the dining table. When Krish saw Viola getting out of the kitchen, he called her to let her know her position…

Krish: “Hey Viola, here”

Viola went near Krish and sat on a chair beside him…

Krish: “So did you tell him?”

Viola started blushing and replied in a low tone…

Viola: “No”

Krish: “Why?” (Curious tone)

Viola: “I am afraid”

Krish sighed when he heard her reply…

Krish: “Okay, it’s final, you are going to tell him tonight after dinner”

Viola was startled…

Viola: “WHAT?”

Her voice was too high which caught the ears of Boris…

Boris: “WHAT HAPPENED?”

Boris asked from the kitchen…

Krish: “NOTHING. I WAS JUST TELLING HER A SCARY STORY”

Boris: “THEN STOP THAT”

Viola was nervous because of her action…

Krish: “How many times have I told you that he likes you?” (Speaking in a low voice)

Viola: “Then why isn’t he telling me?”

Krish: “Same reason as yours”

In the meantime, Boris finished up cleaning and cutting the fishes and came out of the kitchen. Hearing the noises and footsteps, Krish and Viola stopped talking. He looked at Viola and let her know that he was finished up with the job…

Boris: “I have cut them the way you like and I have put your knife at its place”

Viola stood up from her chair and she walked past Boris without saying anything. She was blushing when she was going toward the kitchen due to the recent conversation with Krish.

Boris found it a bit strange and went to Krish to ask…

Boris: “What happened? Why is she acting so weird?”

Krish: “I don’t know”

Krish lied to Boris even after knowing everything. He just wanted to help Viola express her feelings for Boris, even if he had to take the ways of lies.

After some time, Viola prepared the dinner. Boris and Krish helped her to bring the food to the table and then everyone took their seats at the dining table. There was a candle in between the dining table to brighten the place. Krish and Viola sat at one side of the table whereas Boris sat on the opposite side, facing them. They prayed and started enjoying the food that Viola prepared. While eating…

Boris: “Krish”

Krish: “Yes?”

Boris: “Are you coming home tonight?”

Krish: “No, I am reading Viola a storybook and it is not over yet”

Boris: “What book are you reading?”

Krish: “Ivanov the first’s adventures”

Boris: “There is no doubt that he was the best King this country ever got, at least according to the legends”

Viola: “Few times my father took me to the palace, but we were never allowed inside”

Krish: “One day I will take you into the palace” (Bragging tone)

Viola chuckled when she heard Krish’s reply. The laughter and talk kept on going at the dining table for a while, and finally, when the dinner was over, Boris stood at his place and picked up his plate from the table. When Viola was about to do the same, Boris stopped her from doing that…

Boris: “Viola, leave it, I will take your plate”

Viola: “It is fine, I can do that”

Boris: “It’s okay”

He picked up Viola’s plate and stacked it upon his plate and walked toward the kitchen. When he was gone, Krish spoke to Viola in an excited tone…

Krish: “I told you, he likes you…Just tell him how you feel”

Viola started blushing…

Viola: “I will tell him some other time” (hesitant tone)

Krish: “Arghhh…you say that everytime”

Krish kept on encouraging Viola to let her feelings out. And after some time, Boris came out of the kitchen after cleaning his plates. He looked toward Krish and Viola, who were standing at a distance and giving an awkward smile. Because of that, Boris got confused but, he didn’t bother to ask them as he was getting late for something…

Boris: “I am leaving then, I have some work that I need to attend to”

After saying that, he began to proceed toward the exit door. But, he was stopped by Krish…

Krish: “Boris”

Boris turned around and looked toward Krish…

Boris: “Yes, Krish?”

Krish: “Viola needs to tell you something”

Viola was not expecting that, she was startled when suddenly Krish put her in that position. She started blushing more and more. When Boris looked at her and asked…

Boris: “Yes Viola, what do you need to tell me?”

Viola was unable to speak at that moment, she was stuttering a lot. She couldn’t even speak a single word at that moment, and after some time, Boris decided to leave…

Boris: “Can we please talk tomorrow?”

He again turned toward the door and began to walk toward it. Meanwhile, Krish kept on forcing Viola verbally in a low voice which was only audible to Viola. And due to the intensive effort put by Krish, Viola called Boris…

Viola: “Boris”

Boris turned around, and responded…

Boris: “Yes Viola?”

Viola was very nervous. She was unable to proceed anymore, so Boris asked her again…

Boris: “Viola, do you want to tell me something?”

Viola: “Yes” (Hesitant tone)

Boris: “What is it?”

Viola: “The…th…thing…is”

Boris: “If you are uncomfortable, then can we talk tomorrow?”

Krish was looking toward Viola and kept on telling her to tell him in a very low voice, and finally, Viola gathered the courage to speak. She took a deep breath and exhaled before speaking…

Viola: “I love you, Boris”

She spoke it in one go with all the courage she had and now she was afraid for the response. Boris understood what she was trying to convey, but he took a different turn. He smiled and replied…

Boris: “I love you too Viola…I love you both. We are like a family after all”

Viola was overjoyed when she heard the first sentence, but then she got anxious when Boris referred his love to be generic. It was not that she was unsatisfied with what he said, but she thought she failed to convey her emotions properly. So, she told him clearly…

Viola: “I…I mean…would you…would you like to marry me?”

Viola was now afraid on what reply Boris is going to give this time, and she got the most ruthless reply she could ever get. Boris stopped for a moment and replied in a very blunt tone...

Boris: “No”

He said a single word, which was strong enough to break Viola’s heart. Boris then clarified himself when he saw Viola’s face, she seemed like she was about to break down to tears. Boris realized his mistake and clarified himself…

Boris: “Viola, can we talk this tomorrow?”

Still, the answer was not convincing enough. And this time it enraged Krish…

Krish: “ARE YOU SERIOUS? IS IT BECAUSE SHE IS BLIND?”

Viola: “Krish, please don’t” (She tried to persuade him while sobbing)

Boris didn’t mean to do that, but now that he did it, he was quietly listening to Krish. He wanted to let all of Krish’s anger go out. When Krish stopped scolding him, he replied…

Boris: “You don’t understand, I don’t want you to get into danger”

Krish: “WHAT DANGER DO YOU SPEAK OF? IT HAS BEEN TWO YEARS AND WE NEVER SAW THAT DANGER COMING. YOU ARE JUST TRYING TO AVOID HER”

Boris: “I don’t have time for this. We will talk thoroughly through all of this tomorrow, I will explain everything. Then decide whether my decision was wrong or right”

Boris then turned around and walked toward the door. He then opened the door and left for his home which was 1 mile away from the village. It was night so he took a lantern with him. While he was leaving, Krish kept on scolding him and Viola kept on requesting Krish to stop that.

After some time, Boris reached the hunter’s cabin where he was living. When he was only 50 meters away from his house, he saw a man was standing outside his house, at the front door. There was no light there, so the man standing there was appearing like a shadow to Boris. But, Boris was not surprised. It was as if he was expecting that man. He walked closer to the man, and as expected, it was the man he was expecting. The man was wearing a thick furry coat with his hood on. The man was also covering his mouth by winding a muffler around it.

Boris pulled out a key from his coat pocket and opened the door. He entered inside and was followed by the man. Boris then lit up the chimney to heat up the place as well as to illuminate it. The brunette man removed his coat and shawl and sat on the chair in front of the chimney. Boris also joined the man before the chimney.

Initially, when Boris met the man outside his house, he didn’t see his face because it was covered with the shawl. But, when he joined him before the chimney, he saw that the man’s face was swelled as if he was beaten by someone. So he asked…

Boris: “What happened to your face?”

Man: “I had an accident”

Boris: “How?” (Curious tone)

Man: “I fell from the stairs”

Boris: “And I thought you were a careful person” (He chuckled)

The man looked at Boris laughing and smiled…

Man: “Good to see you laugh again”

Boris stopped laughing and began the real conversation…

Boris: “So, how is everything going on in Othon?”

The man’s eyes filled with fear when he heard the question. He got lost in some thoughts. Watching that, Boris got concerned and tried to get his attention…

Boris: “What happened Eric?” (Concerned tone)

Eric got out from his thought and looked at Boris for a moment. And then suddenly, tears started dropping from his eyes. Boris got more concerned and slid his chair closer to Eric. Then he held Eric’s shoulder and looked into Eric’s sad eyes and asked…

Boris: “Tell me everything”

Eric: “They killed the others” (Sobbing tone)

Boris couldn’t understand properly. So he asked Eric to calm down and let him know everything. After some time, Eric calmed down and spoke…

Eric: “The military found out about us, but they didn’t know who all were involved. Because of suspicion, they arrested everyone who was responsible for passing the children in the first phase. Later on, they tortured some of us in order to get information from us. Nobody spoke a word, still, they found out about most of them, and they were executed. ”

Eric again started sobbing. So, Boris hugged him and rubbed his back to calm him down…

Boris: “Hey, hey…everything will be alright”

Eric kept on weeping on Boris’ shoulder.

Suddenly, someone knocked at the door and with that Eric stopped crying. Boris looked at Eric and asked…

Boris: “Was somebody else also coming?”

Eric: “No”

Boris: “It must be Krish then”

Boris tried to separate from Eric, but Eric held his hand. So, Boris requested…

Boris: “Let me go, Eric, I need to open the door” (Persuading tone)

Eric: “Don’t. I have a bad feeling about this.” (He requested)

Boris: “Don’t worry, everything is alright” (He smiled)

Boris then slowly removed Eric’s grip and walked toward the door. Eric, on the other hand, was trembling in fear watching Boris proceeding toward the door. And finally, Boris reached the door and opened it. There was a tall young man (6.5 feet) standing outside the door, and two men were standing beside him.

Boris was so intimidated by his size that he was unable to speak for a moment. And before he could speak, the man spoke…

Man: “Hello Mr. Boris Bolotov”

Nobody in the village knew Boris’ real name except Viola and Krish. When Boris heard his real name from that man’s mouth, he understood, something was not right. So he tried to lie…

Boris: “I think you are mistaken, Sir. My name is not Boris. My name is Artem”

The man laughed looking at him, and said,

Man: “Let’s go inside first”

The three-man entered inside the house without even getting Boris’ permission. Boris tried to stop them, but no one was listening to him. When Eric saw the tall man, he was panicked to death, he was trembling in fear.

The door was open, and Boris got near the tall man and tried to make those men get out of his house...

Boris: “I am afraid, I have to ask you leave, gentlemen” (Polite tone)

Boris maintained his composure even after watching Eric trembling in fear. Suddenly, Boris heard the door close. When he turned around, he saw one of the men with the tall man, close the door, but they didn’t lock it. The tall man then looked toward Eric and spoke…

Man: “Good work Eric, you did a great job”

Boris was unable to comprehend the situation thoroughly, he just had a feeling that something bad was going to happen. The man walked closer to Eric and continued speaking…

Man: “My name is Clifton Kozlov. I am the commander of Battalion 1 of the special forces of Drachma. And these 2 are my subordinates”

Boris gulped out of fear when he found out that the men were from the Special Forces. Clifton continued…

Clifton: “We found out about your little group who thought, they are saving the children. We had to kill some of your friends because they were acting as an obstacle before the dreams of our one true King. We had the information that Eric was the one who knew about your location. So, we never arrested him along with a few of your friends…to make it more believable for him (He grinned), we never let him know that we were keeping an eye on him. We kept on waiting for the day when he would meet you, and finally, the day came, and we are here.” (He laughed after finishing his sentence)

Boris gulped. He understood that getting out of the situation was going to be very difficult.

On the other side, in Viola’s home, the environment was very gloomy after the quarrel with Boris. Viola tried to persuade Krish not to get mad at Boris for such a small reason. After a lot of persuasions, Krish calmed down. He sat on a chair beside Viola, near the dining table. There was silence for a while in the room, but then Krish saw something like a small notebook lying on the floor, below the coat hanger, near the main door. So, out of curiosity, he went there and found out that it was indeed a notebook. He picked it up and took it near a lantern. Then he started flipping through the pages and saw some names and some locations mentioned there. 

Krish: “I think Boris dropped his notebook.”

Viola: “What notebook?”

Krish: “I don’t know, but it seems something important. I think I should go and give it to Boris, otherwise, he will be worried.”

Viola: “Alright, but take a lantern along with you.”

Krish: “Sure”

Krish picked up the lantern near him and proceeded toward the main door, but before he could open it, Viola called him. Krish turned around and found that Viola was standing a few feet away with a concerned look on her face. Krish looked at her worried face, and replied with a calm tone,

Krish: “Is something wrong Viola?”

Viola chuckled to hide her true emotions.

Viola: “No, nothing. What made you think that?” (She answered with a hesitant laugh)

Krish could clearly see through her acting. He sighed and said,

Krish: “I know you are worried because I might fight with him again. But I promise you, I will do nothing like that”

Viola had stopped laughing when Krish started speaking, but at the end, a genuine smile appeared on her face instead of a fake smile. She then pulled out a small bronze coin from her woolen coat. The coin was pretty old. On one side of the coin there was an image of the sun and on the other side, there was an image of the moon.

Viola offered the coin to Krish, and said,

Viola: “Take this.”

Krish was shocked to see that, Viola was offering him her lucky charm, which she always kept close to her.

Krish: “But, that’s your lucky charm.” (Surprised tone)

Viola: “That’s why I am giving this to you. I want you and Boris come back like 2 gentlemen, and return my coin back to me (She said with a smile). Now take it”

Krish smiled and answered, “Alright”.

He then walked closer to Viola and took the coin from her hand, and soon after that, he hugged her. Because of that, tears from Viola’s eyes started dropping on Krish’s shoulder.

Viola: “Please don’t fight with him because of me” (She requested while crying on his shoulder)

Krish: “Don’t worry, I won’t fight.” (Assuring tone)

Krish then pulled back from Viola, and said,

Krish: “Alright then, I am coming back in sometime, and then I can read the remaining story” (He smiled)

Krish turned around and left to deliver the small notebook. It was a full moon night and powdery snow was sprinkling from the sky. Krish was holding a lantern, but the light from the moon was enough to guide his way. And he was unaware of the fact that something terrible was waiting for him at home.

 

Clifton was interrogating Boris about the people associated with him and their location, but Boris was a difficult nut to crack. Boris and Eric were tied on chairs. Boris was physically abused by Clifton, but Boris still didn’t give up the names of his allies. Meanwhile, the 2 subordinates of Boris were searching the house, but they were unable to find anything. And by that time Boris had also found out that the notebook which had the location and the names of his allies was lost, and he was feeling lucky that time for losing something important.

Clifton was sitting right in front of Boris holding a glass of alcohol…

Clifton: “I hope you won’t mind if I stay here tonight (He grinned). For your information, I haven’t started questioning you properly, and I promise you, when I will start, you will wish you were dead.”

Clifton’s face was covered with blood, drops of blood were slowly sliding through his eyelids from his forehead. He gulped out of fear because he didn’t know whether he could withstand the torture anymore or not, but giving up meant risking the lives of all those people who followed him to free the children who were ripped off from their innocence by the Drachmann military. But, then something happened which he was not expecting. Someone from outside was turning the doorknob in order to open the door. Everyone in that room was looking toward the door to see the mysterious visitor, and when the door opened they saw a teenage boy was standing there, holding a lantern. It was Krish.

Krish startled when he saw a big man in his house, and Boris was tied on a chair. Even the subordinates of Clifton were standing still and looking toward Krish. Krish gulped out of fear when he saw Boris bleeding badly. But, before Clifton could take any action, Boris shouted…

Boris: “RUN KRISH, RUN.”

As soon as Krish heard Boris, he dropped the lantern he was holding on the floor, turned around and ran. The lantern broke right at the main door whose floor was a furry carpet and the door was made of wood. So, when the oil inside the lantern spread on the floor and the fire from the lantern caught the spilled oil, and the entrance was lit on fire. But, even in that situation, Clifton and his subordinates were very calm. Clifton looked toward his subordinates and ordered them…

Clifton: “Extinguish the fire” (Calm tone)

The subordinates quickly moved to extinguish the fire with various things available in that room.

Meanwhile, Clifton looked toward Boris and saw fear in his eyes. He smiled on watching the panicked look on Boris’ face…

Clifton: “Is that boy someone important to you?”

The simple question from Clifton’s mouth agitated Boris. Boris tried to force himself out of the chair, which clearly wasn’t working at all. Clifton was smiling at Boris…

Clifton: “So he is. I guess that’s the boy you ran with, from the JMA (Junior Military Academy).”

Boris: “DON’T YOU TOUCH HIM.” (Threatening tone)

Clifton started laughing out loud when he heard Boris…

Boris: “How are you planning to stop me?” (He glared at Boris)

In the meantime, the 2 subordinates had finished off extinguishing the fire, and soon after that, they informed their superior. Clifton stood up and moved toward the main door which was on the verge of breaking due to the burn it suffered. He stopped at the entrance and looked outside. It was a full moon night and few snowflakes were falling in that area. On the other side, Boris was shouting from the back with all his strength to stop Clifton, but Clifton was not paying any attention to him at that moment. He then looked at the footprints of Krish on the light snow…

Clifton: “Looks like it was the right decision to bring them along…NOW COME OUT FROM THE SHADOWS.”

Clifton shouted in the wilderness as if he was calling someone, and soon the sound of footsteps echoed in the surrounding. Clifton and his subordinates then looked toward the pine forest beside Boris’ house which was covered in partial darkness due to shades of the trees. The noise from footsteps was getting louder and louder, and soon they saw the blazing red eyes of some animals in the darkness of the forest. The animals then stopped running and slowly moved out of the shadows. There were 3 creatures which were looking like a tiger, but they had some other animal parts. They were without a doubt, “chimeras”.

The chimeras were acting as if they were adhering to every command of Clifton. They appeared when Clifton called them, and now they were standing still for their next order.

Clifton: “Find that boy, but don’t kill him.”

As soon as the chimeras received the order, they went after Krish. They were following Krish as if there was some kind of tracker on Krish’s body. They were going straight in the direction where Krish went. After the chimeras were gone, Clifton stretched his arms and spoke to his subordinates…

Clifton: “Stay here and keep an eye on Boris. I am going to have a walk.”

Subordinates: “Yes Sir.”

Clifton then followed the chimeras.

 

On the other side, Krish had long diverted away from the path leading to the village. He assumed that the people he saw might follow him to the village and the villagers might get into danger.

He kept on running in that cold night, hoping to get a solution to the problem. But, the problem worsened when he heard the voices and footsteps of the chimeras at a distance, approaching him at a fast rate. He turned around to see the source of the noise and saw the chimeras approaching him. Not far behind the chimeras, he saw a man running at an unrealistic speed. Krish quickly turned around and resumed running.

Just running 100-200 meters more, he reached a 50-60 feet high cliff. Below the cliff, he saw a broken house and a small truck was parked beside the house. Furthermore, he saw a road was just a few meters away from the house. He wanted to get to the truck and take the help of whosever truck was that, but he couldn’t find anyone near the house or the truck. Even if he would have found anyone there, it was still a very difficult task to get down the cliff which had many exposed rocks. So any mistake while getting down from the cliff could hurt him badly. While he was thinking of a plan to get down the cliff, he was unaware that someone was indeed present in the house. But, that someone was hiding inside the house for some reason. It was a man in his late twenties, who was hiding inside the house and keeping an eye on Krish who was standing on the cliff’s edge.

Man: {I was told there would be no one here, then what is this kid doing here?} (He gritted his teeth out of frustration)

Krish on the other side couldn’t find a way to get down, and before he could do anything else, chimeras had surrounded him. He was shivering out of fear, while the chimeras were slowly approaching him from all the sides. In a few seconds, Clifton also reached the place. As soon as Clifton reached there, the chimeras stopped at their place. Krish looked toward Clifton and gulped out of fear…

Clifton: “Hey kid (He smiled). I appreciate your effort of not going toward the village, otherwise, I can’t say what my pets might have done.”

Meanwhile, below the cliff, the man who was hiding inside the house was watching everything. And it was the first time, he saw chimeras, which was enough to send a shiver down his spines, but then he saw a man controlling those monsters…

Man: {What the hell are those creatures? And that man…he seems very dangerous. Viktor, leave this place, otherwise, you will be a dead man. The boss will understand}

The man left the house from the back, very cautiously by hiding in the shadow of the cliff. He left his truck there because it was clearly visible to the people on the cliff.

Krish on the other side had nowhere to go, and with each step Clifton was taking forward, Krish was taking a same number of backward step. When there was no more ground to step on, Krish stopped moving backward and stood still. The chimeras were glaring at him, making him sweat even in that cold weather…

Clifton: “I don’t want to hurt you. I can give you a chance to talk to your friend, and give me the names and locations of certain people who are creating a problem for the military. But, if he still won’t cooperate then I might have to take certain actions, which I am avoiding as of now...So, are you going to help me?”

Krish was so afraid that he couldn’t even talk. When Clifton didn’t receive an answer, he moved toward Krish. Because of this Krish panicked and took a step back, but there was no ground to land the foot, so he lost his balance. In that fraction of second, Krish had a feeling that he was about to die, and his mind went blank.

He fell from the cliff and hit many exposed rocks before reaching the bottom.  His head was bleeding, his clothes were torn and his eyes were closed. With the little consciousness, what was left in him, he was murmuring only one word “Boris”, and after few seconds, he passed out.

Clifton was standing on the edge of the cliff, looking at Krish. After some time, he jumped from the cliff as if it was nothing for him, and he had a perfect landing. He then walked closer to Krish and saw if he was alive or not. He bent down to check Krish’s pulse and found out that he was breathing. While he was checking Krish’s pulse, he saw a part of a small notebook hanging out of Krish’s coat. Clifton took out the notebook and flipped through the pages. He saw the names and location on the pages which he was trying to find out from Boris. Now that the answers were right in front of him, he started laughing. After some time, he stopped laughing and looked toward Krish…

Clifton: “Sorry kid, but it will be very difficult to save you now. Even if I save you, you will become like Boris one day. It’s better if you die now…I don’t want to get into the hassle of killing you in the future.”

Clifton then saw the truck parked beside the broken house. Because of that, he searched the house, but no one was there. Then he climbed up the cliff with ease, leaving the unconscious boy behind, and went back to Boris’ house. 

After some time of Clifton’s departure from that place, someone came running to Krish. It was the same man who was hiding in the house, and later left when he saw Clifton. He came closer to Krish and checked his pulse…

Man: “You are a tough one…Well if you are not giving up, then I guess you deserve a chance to live on.”

He carried Krish and took him to his truck, and put him on the front seat. Then he took the driver’s seat and started the vehicle. While driving…

Man: “I know you are not listening to me, but I will still like to introduce myself, and you can introduce yourself later, whenever you get up…My name is Viktor Cout (Introduced in Chapter 16- The Best), and if you live, you owe your life to me kid. To tell you about myself, I am the greatest smuggler of Drachma. Well, some people might argue with me for such claims, but….”

Viktor kept on speaking to Krish even though Krish was unconscious. He was just trying to pass his time, even if it meant to talk with a half-dead boy.

 

Viola who was waiting for Krish and Boris to come home. But, destiny had something else planned for them. The lonely people who met with each other formed a happy family among themselves, but that night was the last night they ever enjoyed being a family. Time kept on passing but, Krish never came back to read the unfinished story to Viola. Boris never came back to give an explanation on why he rejected Viola’s proposal. Krish never apologized to Boris, and fulfill Viola’s request. And even after such a long time, Viola still hoped that one day her family would return.

 

**[Present day, Othon]**

Although it was night time in Othon throughout the 24 hours, there was a time when people took leave from their jobs to take rest. It was that time in Othon when the streets were empty and everyone was in their homes, getting some sleep. The military headquarters, however, was a highly secured place, but the warehouse which was situated inside the headquarters was a less guarded place. Boris and his pet bear, Toby were staying in the warehouse, after getting permission from the military. Boris’ main intention for being there was to find information about Lab C. So when the security reduced than normal, he went to find out the answers. He had a very good experience of hiding and evading the military, but doing the same thing at the military headquarters was different.

While searching for the answers, he found a door which led to the basement of the military headquarters. He pulled out a small lantern in his coat pocket, lit it up and entered inside. After reaching the dead end of the underground passage, he saw 2 doors, one at the right side and other on the left side. In order to decide where he should go, he put his hands in the inner pocket of his shirt and pulled out the coin. One side of that coin had an image of the sun, and the other side had the image of the moon. He tossed the coin, and the result was the sunny side. He put the coin back in the place where it was and went through the door on the right side.


End file.
